_^0 

txhrary  of  t:he  t:heolo0ical  ^^m\n<xry 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PURCHASED  BY  THE 
HAMILL  MISSIONARY  FUND 


THE     DRAGON,    IMAGE,    AND    DEMON. 


mmi 


THE 

DRAGON.  IMAGE,  AND  DEMON 


OR 


THE   THREE   RELIGIONS   OF   CHINA 

CONFUCIANISM,   BUDDHISM,   AND   TAOISM 


GIVING   AX   ACCOUNT  OF 


THE  MYTHOLOGY,  IDOLATRY,  AND  DEMONOLATRY 
OF  THE  CHINESE 


BY    REV.    HAMPDEN    C.    DuBOSE 

Fourteen  Years  a  Missionary  at  Soocliow 


"  O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness, 
Look,  my  soul,  be  still,  and  gaze." 


NEW   YORK 

A.  C.  ARMSTRONG    &    SOiN" 

714    Broadway 

1887 


Copyright,  1886, 
By  a.  C.  ARMSTKONG   &   SON 


TO    THE 

KEY.    J.    LEIGHTON    WILSON,    D.D., 

EIGHTEEN    YEARS    A    MISSIONARY    IN    AFRICA, 

AXD    FOR 

THIRTY -THREE    YEARS    SECRETARY    OF    FOREIGN    MISSIONS  ] 

WISE  IN  COUNSEL,   GENTLE  IN  ADMINISTRATION, 

A    CHEERY    CORRESPONDENT    TO    THOSE    IN    LANDS    OF    NIGHT, 

AND 
HAPPY    TO    RECEIVE    A    JOVIAL    LETTER    FROM    ACROSS    THE    SEA, 

KINDLING    THE    FIRE    OF    MISSIONS 

ON 

THE    ALTARS    OF    TEN    THOUSAND    HEARTS, 

WHOSE 

"  LITTLE    UNIVERSE    IS    FOREIGN    MISSIONS  ;  " 

MY    FATHER,    MY    FRIEND, 

AND    A    FELLOW-MEMBER    OF    THE    REVEREND    PRESBYTERY 

OF    HARMONY, 

THIS    APPEAL    FOR    THE    HEATHEN 

IS 

DEDICATED. 


PREFACE. 


y^URINGr  a  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1882,  a 
■^^^  lecture  on  the  ''  Three  Religions  "  was  delivered  in 
about  150  churches,  and  there  were  many  requests  for 
its  publication.  With  further  study  the  lecture  has 
grown  to  its  present  size.  Many  of  the  best  thoughts 
in  this  volume  are  obtained  from  the  writings  of  Edkins, 
Eitel,  Legge,  and  Beal ;  also  from  general  works  on 
China,  missionary  journals,  and  other  sources.  In  every 
known  case  quotation  marks  are  used,  but  the  "  quotation 
marks  "  do  not  always  indicate  that  the  passage  is  taken 
from  an  English  work,  for  they  are  also  used  for  transla- 
tions. The  writer  has  drawn  his  water  from  native  wells, 
the  facts  being  mostly  gathered  from  Chinese  sources. 
The  pen  is  not  held  by  one  seated  in  a  professor's  study, 
but  by  a  plain  man,  who  daily  walks  to  and  fro  among 
idolaters,  and  testifies  of  what  he  has  seen  and  heard. 
Some  may  discover  errors  in  the  work,  and  doubtless  they 
will,  for  it  is  a  book  of  errors,  and  where  truth  has  no 
touch-stone  how  can  error  be  detected  ? 

The  name  chosen  is  the  most  exact  representation  that 


8  Preface. 

could  be  found  of  what  each  system  is.  The  "  Dragon  "  is 
the  emblem  of  China  and  its  State  Church ;  the  "  Image  " 
is  a  synonym  for  the  Indian  religion — it  matters  little 
the  size,  colour,  or  name  of  the  image  ;  and  the  term 
"  Demon  "  is  Taoism  in  a  nut-shell. 

These  dark  chapters  are  written  in  the  hope  that  some 
small  impetus  may,  by  the  facts  presented,  be  given  to 
Christian  missions  in  China.  We  now  need  3,000  or- 
dained men  to  go  "  two  and  two  "  to  the  1,600  walled 
cities  of  the  Empire.  Oh,  that  some  reader  might  hear 
the  Macedonian  cry  !  If  the  heart  is  touched,  shall  not 
the  hand  send  a  contribution  to  the  mission  treasury  ? 
How  many  might  give  SSI 000  a  year  to  support  a  married 
missionary  ?  How  many  churches  might  send  out  their 
own  man  ?  The  finance  of  missions  needs  to  be  placed 
on  a  more  definite  basis ;  money  to  be  raised  by  regular 
subscriptions,  rather  than  depending  on  the  collecting 
box.  I  write  in  a  plain  style  so  that  boys  may  understand 
as  well  as  men.  When  six  years  old,  my  father  gave  me 
a  little  red  picture  book,  about  Rev.  R.  Moffat  in  Africa  ; 
it  took  full  possession  of  my  soul,  and  in  the  "  log  par- 
sonage" I  resolved  to  go  to  the  heathen.  I  trust  that 
this  book  will  follow  every  Christian  boy  that  reads  it  like 
a  policeman. 

It  is  generally  put  down  that  when  any  one  engages 
in  a  labour  like  this  he  does  it  to  the  neglect  of  mission 
work,  so  to  exonerate  oneself  it  is  necessary  to  state 
that  besides  colportage,  and  constant  street  and  tea-shop 


Preface.  9 

preaching,  there  has  been  an  average  of  fifty  sermons 
a  month  in  the  chapels.  How  can  one  expect  the  favour 
of  Grod  if  he  neglects  what  he  is  sent  to  do  ?  The 
command  is  not  "  Go,  write  my  Grospel."  One  of  my 
teachers,  an  editor,  gave  the  advice  to  the  class  "  to  save 
the  joinings  of  time." 

The  suggestion  is  made  to  younger  missionaries  that 
they  orally  translate  some  of  the  chapters  of  this  book 
with  their  teachers,  so  as  to  familiarise  themselves  with 
the  local  idolatry. 

As  this  is  not  a  comprehensive  work  on  the  middle 
kingdom,  but  simply  on  "  Religion  in  China,"  there  has 
been  no  opportunity  to  express  my  admiration  for  the 
many  noble  traits  of  national  character, — the  brightness 
of  their  intellects,  the  love  of  literature,  the  frugality 
and  industry,  the  strength  of  the  government,  the 
solidity  of  their  institutions,  their  peaceful  dispositions, 
and  their  courtesy  to  foreigners.  What  a  glorious 
country  will  the  Land  of  Sinim — the  land  of  promise — 
be,  when  they  ''  turn  to  Grod  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living 
and  true  Grod,  and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven  !  " 

H.  C.  D. 

Southern  (U.S.A.)  Presbyterian  Mission, 
SOOCHOW,  September  30th,  1885. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    THREE    RELIGIONS    DOVETAILED. 

PAGE 

The  population  and  the  length  of  time— No  arithmetical  division  — 
The  three  in  partnership — Emperor  K'anghe— The  three  are 
relatives — All  three  national — One  man  worships  in  three 
temples — Many  of  the  gods  are  the'  same— Is  the  union  bene- 
ficial ? — The  relative  influence 27 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    CHURCH    OF     THE    LEARNED. 

Not  strictly  a  religion — No  Creator — Pankoo — No  Sabbath — The 
splendid  morality — Vice  not  deified — The  heart — Conscience — 
The  Confucianist— Want  of  religion — Failed  to  elevate — The 
citadel .38 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    SEE    OF    PEKING. 

Heaven-  The  Son  of  Heaven — The  Son  of  Heaven  as  the  federal 
head  of  his  people — The  minister  of  religion — The  mandarin 
Priests — Imperial  gold — An  anchor  to  the  nation         .        .        .50 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

THE    HIGH-PRIEST    OF    CHINA.  E 

PAG 

The  park — The  Temple  of  Heaven — The  Altar  of  Heaven — The  pro- 
cession— The  sacrifice 57 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    ADORATION    OF    NATURE. 

Its  antiquity — Ming  dynasty — Pantheism — Heaven  and  earth — 
Earth — The  sun— Moon-god— Eclipse — Gods  of  the  Four  Seas — 
The  Water-god-  -The  River-gods — Gods  of  the  Mountains — Gods 
of  Time — Gods  of  the  Four  Seasons — Gods  of  the  Five  Elements 
— Wind,  thunder,  rain,  and  lightning — Earl  wind — Rain-master 
— Thunder  and  lightning — The  Snow-god — The  Frost-goddess — 
God  of  Caverns — Tree-god — God  of  the  Willow — Gods  and 
goddesses  of  Flowers — The  Wheat-goddess  .        .        .        .65 

CHAPTER  YI. 

ANCESTRAL    IDOLATRY. 

All  engage  in  it — Filial  piet}^ — An  ancient  cultus — Confucius — A  son 
—  Fear,  the  chief  motive — Three  souls — The  ancestral  hall — The 
grave — The  home — The  slavery 77 

CHAPTER  YII. 

CONFUCIUS  :     HIS    CHARACTER    AND    INFLUENCE. 

Dim  light — Ancestry — His  birth — His  youth — The  age — Marriage — 
Public  teacher— Devotion  of  his  pupils — A  mandarin — A 
wanderer — Called  of  Heaven — A  man  of  the  past — The  musician 
— Humility — Sinless — Ritualism — The  silver  rule- — The  marvel- 
lous— Prophetic— Superstitious— Want  of  truth— The  historian 
— His  influence—The  books  and  the  altar — Death       .         .         .     89 


Contents.  1 3 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


THE      CONFUCIAN      SACRIFICES. 


Titles — The  temple  and  the  grave — Kings  adore — His  manhood — 
The  god  of  office  — Literary  temples — The  sacrifice — The  school 
— His  rank  in  the  Pantheon 1 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONFUCIAN      GODS. 

God  of  Literature— Star  of  Literature — God  of  War — Three  primor- 
dial sovereigns — Five  planetary  gods — Five  emperors — Penates 
or  household  gods — Door  gods — God  of  Agriculture — Gods  of  the 
Tides — Golden-dragon  king — Five  dragons — Temple  of  worthies 
— God  of  the  Classics — God  of  Writing— Written  character  — 
Mencius— Disciples  of  Confucius — Eight  gods — Divine  husband- 
man— Spirits  of  the  land  and  grain— Gods  of  the  precincts— 
God-constables — Prison-god — God  of  the  City  Wall — Guardian 
temples — Granary  king — Eighth  great  king        ....  126 


CHAPTER    X. 

BUDDHA,    THE    NIGHT    OF    ASIA. 

Name — Ancestry — Birth — Boyhood — Love  at  first  sight — Indian 
paradise — Age,  sickness,  and  death — The  flight — The  great 
renunciation — The  hermit — Mara  and  his  temptations — Attain- 
ing to  Buddhaship — The  heart  of  pity — His  manhood — The  tola 
of  mustard  seed— All  flesh — Animal  sacrifices— Esthetics — 
Discussions  with  the  Brahmans — The  Itinerant — His  opponents 
— The  monastic  system — Wheel  of  the  excellent  law — Ten  pro- 
hibitions— Deer  park — Brevity  of  life — The  body — "  Know  thy- 
self " — Birth,  age,  misery,  and  death— The  ego — The  previous  ex- 
istence— Parables — Prudent  quail  -Forget-favour,  the  merchant 
— The  Mani-gem— The  cunning  tortoise — The  foolish  dragon — 
Miracles.  The  white  elephant— In  mid-air — The  blind  boy- 
Healing   the  sick  -The  threads  of  his   robe — The   stone — The 


1 4  Contents. 


PAGE 

dragons-  The  magician —Amusing  incidents.  The  fishermen 
— Drunken  elephants  —  The  goose  —  The  baby  —  Nanda  — 
Monastery  at  Jeta's  garden— The  feast — The  parrot  and  the  bull 
— Faith — Visits  Heaven — Images — Relics— Death — Cremation  .  143 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    ORIENTAL    BANYAN. 

Its  importance — Mipsionary  spirit — Fate  in  India  —  Introduction 
into  China— Europe  and  Asia— Its  slow  growth- -The  emperors 
— Confucian  opposition — Persecutions — Buddhist  travellers — 
Pagodas  and  relics-Patriarchs — The  schools — The  canon— The 
forge  of  lies— The  Sutra  a  fetish— Christian  ideas— Its  toler.int 
spirit — Beneficial  effects — Revival  of  Buddhism  ....  189 


CHAPTEK   XII. 


THE  THEOLOGY  OF  BUDDHISM. 


Atheistic— Natural  science — The  great  Chili(icosm  —  The  heart — 
Morality —  Asceticism  —  Love — Emptiness — Nihilism  —  Medita- 
tion— Kindness  to  animals — Vegetarians — Sin — Redemption- 
Merit — Field  of  happiness — Transmigration— The  gods  strapped 
to  this  wheel — Nirvana 207 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE    WORSHIP    OF    BUDDHISM. 

Priests— Temple— Four  diamonds— Matrey  a  Buddha— W6ito— 
Buddhas  of  the  three  ages— Shakyamuni,  Wenshu,  and  Pouhien 
—  The  eighteen  Lohans— The  worship  —  Oracular  response- 
Absence  of  devotion — Worshipping  assembly — Three  vows — 
Prayers— In  Sanscrit— Prayer  for  rain— Buddhist  and  Taoist 
calendar        ,         , 229 


Contents.  1 5 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE    IDOLATRY    OF    BUDDHISM. 

PAGE 

Three  classes — Worship  of  the  seen — Gods  appear  to  men — Idol 
factory — Large  images — Dedication — Idolatry  as  an  industry — 
Building  a  temple — The  nail  cage — Tortures  of  Buddhism- 
Stealing  candles — "  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what  " — Comi)en- 
dium  of  gods — Places  of  worship — Dei  Majores— The  abomi- 
nations   255 


CHAPTER    XV. 

MOUNTAINS,    ISLANDS,    AND    FESTIVALS. 

Sacred  mountains—  Mount  T'ai— Pootoo—  Theological  seminary — 
Keligion  as  a  holiday — Pilgrims — Idol  processions — Heathenism 
fascinating — Theatricals .  272 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

WOMEN    AND    BUDDHISM. 

Pleasant  —  Nunneries  —  Goddesses  —  Ancestral  benefits —  Buddha's 
doctrine  of  women — Lake  of  Blood— Heathen  mother— Dead 
child 283 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE    HEART    OF    BUDDHISM. 

Buddhism  and  Roman  Catholicism — Kwanyin,  the  goddess  of  mercy 
—Fragrant  mountain  liturgy — Magnet  of  the  Church — Buddhist 
saviour — Amita  and  the  Western  Heaven — Amitn — Magic  name 
— Paradise  of  the  West — The  pure  land — Born  of  a  lily — The  God 
of  Hades — Doctrine  of  hell — City  of  Fungtu — Ten  kings  of  hell 
— White  and  black  devils — Vision  of  hell — Looking  homeward 
— The  mirror — The  Undivided  Hell — The  earth  prison — Miss 
Hang's  soup 290 


i6  Contents, 


CHAPTER   X^^II. 

THE    GODS    OF    BUDDHISM. 

PAGB 

Janteng  Buddha — The  dragons — Holding  pagoda  King  Lee — The 
mother  of  Buddha — Master  of  the  Lily  Lake — Fix-light  Buddha 
— P'ouhien  P*usa — The  sombre  maiden       .         .         .         .         .315 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


GODS    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 


Grod  of  Wealth— God  of  Kiehes — Heavenly  mandarin — Kitchen-god 
— God  of  Theatres — God  of  Horses  and  Cows — Sheep-god — God 
of  Snakes — Holding- snakes  god — God  of  Scorpions— Locust 
goddess — Gods  of  the  Bed — Old  3Lin  and  Woman  of  the  Bed— 
Gold-god — Tea-god — Salt-god — Gods  of  the  Ct^mpass — God  of 
the  North  Place — God  of  the  Soul — Gods  of  Strength— God  of 
Happiness— Wang  Papa — Goddtss  of  Travel — The  Rambling 
gal — God  of  Archery — God  of  the  Wave — Field- ancestor  god 
— God  of  the  Favouring  Wind — Bridge-gods — Lamp-god — Forty 
masters — Five  or  twenty-five  gods  —God  of  the  Rough  Gem — 
Little-boy  god — Yin-dragon  god  —  Yellow-dragon  god  —  Silk- 
worm god — God  of  the  Year — Goddess  of  the  Male  Principle  of 
Nature  — Family  gods  of  the  Door — The  Ting  gods— Little  Boy 
at  the  Well       ' '  ^.         .         .         .320 


CHAPTER    XX. 

GODS    OF    TR-\DES. 

Carpenter's  god — Mason's  god — Fisherman's  god— God  of  the  Net 
— Bacchus — Bean-curd  god — God  of  Barbers — The  Tailors'  god 
— God  of  Silk — Goddess  of  Embroidery — Ancestor  of  Jade — God 
of  Musical  In strument*!— Juggler's  god — God  of  the  Paper 
clothing  Stores — God  of  Architecture  .....  833 


Contents. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE    ABSURDITIES    OF    POLYTHEISM. 

Rain  clothes  dwarf — Monkey-god— Go<l  of  Lice — Punch  and  Judy 
gryi — Gvl  of  Fire-crackers — God  of  Cruelty — God  cf  Revensre — 
Go<^ldefts  of  Manure — Goddess  of  Fornication  -Goddes*  of  the 
Comer — God  of  SI  arlows — God  of  Gamblers— Bad  gods — The 
Emperor  Show — Kiang  Taikung — The  stone  lion      .        .         .  337 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

TAOIST    PHII/jS<^>PHY. 

Laotsze — The   lonely  picture  —  Tao   Teh    king — Tao — Canons    of 

wisdom  and  virtue      .         .  .         .         .         .         .345 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

TAOISM      AS     A      RELIGION. 

Gradual  evolution — Plagiarism—  Alchemy — To  become  an  immortal 
— The  great  extreme — Yin  and  Yai.g — Manicbaeans— Rotation 
— Gods  have  sin — Gr>ds  miy  marry — Promotion — Gods  of  State 
— Appointing  gods— The  three  periods — The  thirteen  boards — 
Tao'st  creation  —  Variety  temples— To  escape  the  metem- 
psychosis—Religious services  for  the  living — The  fairy  crane— 
Saleof  indulgences — Forgiveness  hair-pin — Worshipping  Heaven 
— BriV^erj'  in  worship  -  Dreams — Tree  of  the  rewards  of  good 
and  evil — The  Abacus— The  tail-cutting  mania  .         .         .  VA 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

POPES,    PRIE.STS,    AXD    TEMPLES. 

The  first  p:)pe — The  heavenly  teacher  An  audience  to  the  gods — 
The  priests  of  Taoism — The  abbot— The  city  temple.  Soochow 
— The  snorter  and  blower — The  three  pure  ones — The  lantern 
pagoda 372 

2 


t8  Contents, 


CHAPTER   XXY. 

TAOIST    GODS. 

PAGE 

Pearly  emperor — Tsusze  P'usa— The  city  gods — Assistants  to  the 
city  gods — The  mediator — The  Eastern  Peak — Empress  of 
Heaven,  or  goddess  of  the  Sea — God  of  Fire— Eight  ministers 
— God  of  Pestilence — Three  mandarins — Three  mao — Five 
holy  ones — God  of  Witches— Horse  duke — Western  Royal 
Mother — Three  corpse  gods — Day  and  night  recorders — Road 
gods — Open  Road  gods — White-tiger  god — Wang  Ling  Kwan — 
Military  official 382 

CHAPTEE    XXVI. 

MEDICAL    DIVINITIES. 

Evidences  of  Christianity — Leu  Chen  Yang,  the  Chinese  ^sculapius 
— King  of  medicine — Hien  Yuen  and  Chepah — Dr.  Fox— Dr. 
Hwat'u — Divine  oculist — God  of  Small-pox — Liver-complaint 
and  Stomach-ache  genii — God  of  Measles — God  of  Luck — God  of 
the  Primordial  Cause — Goddess  of  the  Womb — Goddess  of  Mid- 
wives— Sleeping  Buddha — The  thirty  teachers — Gods  of  the 
Body— Thanking  the  Earth-god — The  peasants — Dedicated  to 
the  priesthood — Getting  a  prescription — The  charmed  water — 
Borrowing  years — The  criminal — Kidnapping  pretty  women     .  398 

CHAPTER    XXYII. 

THE    STAR    GODS. 

Goddess  of  the  Norlh  Star — Northern  and  southern  bushels — Shoot- 
ing the  heavenly  dog — Happiness,  office,  and  age— The  Cycle 
gods — The  twenty-eight  constellations — Star  worship — Good 
and  bad  stars        . 410 

CHAPTER   XXYIII. 

THE    IMMORTALS. 

Divine  fiction — P'eng  Lai  islands — Five  kinds  of  immortals — Eight 
immortals — Han    Chunglee — T'ih    Kwalee — CLang    Kwula^i — 


Contents.  19 


PAGE 

Han  Siangtsze — Lan  Ts'aiho — Ts'ao  Kwohk'iu — Ho  Sienkoo — 
Gocls  of  Marriage— The  immortal  ma — Two  brothers  and  the 
dog — The  rosebud  immortal 420 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

AFTER    DEATH,    THE    SEVEN    SEVENS. 

Fear  of  death — Corpse— Fungs'auy— The  four  death  ceremonies — 
Lamps — Bathing  the  soul — Crossing  the  bridge  Scattering 
the  cash— Ornamental  hangings  at  funerals— Tossing  the 
cymbals — Masses  for  the  dead — At  the  temple — The  Noxious 
god — Remembering  the  dead — Feast  to  the  soul—  A  priest  next 
time — The  last  ceremony — Magic  credentials — Funeral  pio- 
cession 429 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

DEMONOLATRY. 

Calling  back  the  soul — Accompanying  the  guest— Charms — Chung 
Kw'ei — Fifth  moon,  Fifth  day — Street  guards — Spirit  of  the 
house  —Cleansing  the  house — Floating  water-lamps — Paper 
clothing  store — Preparation  for  Heaven — Bank  of  Hades — 
Travelling  in  Hades — Headless  ghosts— Cannot  die  in  the  inn 
— Suicides — Drowned  spirits^Lunacy — Demoniacal  possession 
— Catching  demons — China,  the  land  of  demons — The  Breath 
of  Death — The  great  feast  of  spirits— The  devil's  procession — 
Conclusion 443 

Index .        .  465 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

The  Three  Founders    -            -            -            -  -      30 

Pankoo         -------  40 

**  Relying  on  Heaven  we  eat  Rice  "               -            -  -       50 

Temple  of  Heaven             .            .            ,            _            -  58 

Altar  of  Heaven                         ...  -       59 

Worship  of  Heaven  and  Earth  at  the  New  Year           -  67 

Palace  of  the  Moon      -            -            -            -            -  -       69 

Save  the  Sun !        -             ....            -  70 

Thunder-god      -----            .  -       73 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thunder       -.--.-  74 

Worshipping  at  the  Grave       -             -             -             -  -       83 

Sacrifice  to  Ancestors         -----  85 

Confucius           -            -             -            -            -            -  -       90 

Dragons  and  Wise  Men     -----  92 

The  Sage's  Chariot       -----  100 

The  Sage  and  the  Banditti           -            -            -            -  102 

The  Musician    -            -            -            -            -            -  -     103 

Weeping  for  the  Unicorn-            -            -            -            -  108 

The  Books  and  the  Altar        -            -            -            -  -     113 

Avenue  to  the  Grave  of  Confucius          -            -            -  116 

Grave  of  Confucius      -             =■            -            -            -  -117 

Emperor  Offering  Sacrifice              -             -             -             -  118 

Sacrifice  to  Confuciu<=;  -             -             -             -             -  -     122 

School-boy  Worshipping  Confucius            -             -             ~  124 

Wenchang          -            -            -            -            -            -  -     126 


2  2  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

Kwei  Sing         ---.-_.  127 

God  of  War            --....  128 

Three  Primordial  Sovereigns  -----  129 

Household  Gods      ------  130 

Door  Gods         -            -            -            -            -            -            -  131 

God  of  Agriculture            -            .             -            -            -  132 

Tidal-god           -            -            -            -            -                        -  133 

Golden-dragon  King           -            *            -            -            -  134 

Mencius              --.--..  136 
Granary  King         -            -            -            -            -            -140 

Eighth  Great  King       -            -            -            -            -            -  141 

Buddha        --..--.  145 

The  Infant  Buddha      - 146 

Onset  of  Devils      ------  153 

Ascending  to  Heaven  ------  158 

Buddha's  Teachings            -            -            -            -            -  168 

Throwing  the  Elephant            .            -            -            -            -  173 

Kapele          -------  176 

The  Lions  and  the  Elephants              -            -            -            -  177 

Rescuing  the  Little  Devil              ....  178 

Paradise  and  Tartarus  ------  180 

The  Parrot's  Grove            -----  182 

The  Image-maker         ------  184 

Rising  from  his  Coffin       -----  187 

The  Feet           ---.--.  188 

Soochow  Pagoda     -            -            -            -            -            -  197 

Sand- waiter       -             -                         ....  202 

Mount  Sumeru        ------  209 

Meditation          -            -            -            -            -            -            -  216 

Transmigration        ---.--  224 

Buddh^'st  Priests            -             -             -             -             -             -  230 

Cremation  Jar         -             .            -            .            -            .  232 

Chinese  Temple            .---..  233 

Four  Diamonds       ------  234 

The  Coming  Buddha    -             -             -             -             -             -  236 

The  Protector         -            -            -            -            -            -  237 


hlustrations.  23 


PAGE 


"Long  Live  the  Emperor!"               .            .            -            -  238 

Eighteen  Lohans    ------  239 

Articles  used  in  Worship         -             ...             -  240 

Carrying  Paper  Money       -----  241 

The  Incense  Censer      ------  241 

Load  of  Paper  Silk             -----  242 

Crinoline  Incense           -                          -             .             ,             -  243 

Inquiring  of  the  Oracle     -----  244 

Lighting  Candles           ------  245 

Priests  at  Worship              -----  246 

Idol  Factory      -             -             -             -            -            -            -  257 

Unfinished  Images  ------  258 

Collecting  for  a  Temple           -----  262 

Nail  Cage    - 264 

Hooked  into  the  Arm  ------  265 

Pantheon     -----             -             -  267 

Gods  in  the  Clouds      -             -             -             -             -             -  268 

The  Hermit 276 

Theological  Lecture      ------  278 

Idol  Proce  sion                     -             -             -             -             -  280 

Temple  Theatre             -            -            -            -            -            -  281 

The  Nun     -             -             -            -            -            -             -  284 

Goddess              -_..---  285 

Child's  Hat             ------  288 

Kwanyin  in  White  Robes        -----  292 

The  Thousand-Handed  Kwanyin  -             -            -            -  293 

Giving-sons  Kwanyin   ------  295 

Fish-basket  Kwanyin          -----  297 

Amita.  Kwanyin,  and  Tashuchi           -             .             -             -  299 

Western  Paradise    -             -             -             -             -             -  301 

Titsang  -             -             -             -             -             -             -             -  304 

King  Yama,  Cow's  Head  and  Horse's  Face.  Assistants  -  307 

White  and  Black  Devils           -             -             -             -             -  308 

Looking  Homeward                          .             .             -             -  308 

The  Mirror 309 

The  Mill 310 


24 


Illustrations. 


The  Mortar 
The  Chopping  Kuife 
Pulling  out  the  Tongue 
Sawn  Asunder 
Lake  of  Blood  - 
Bridge  of  Snakes    - 
Caldron  of  Oil  - 
Hill  of  Knives 
ViUage  of  Wild  Dogs  - 
Burning  Cylinder    - 
Miss  Mang's  PaviUon    - 
The  Dragon 

King  Lee,  holding  a  Pagoda 
God  of  Wealth 
List  of  Gods 
God  of  Riches 
Heavenly  Mandarin 

Kitchen-god 

Theatre-god 

Snake  King 

God  and  goddess  of  the  Bed 

Little  Boy  at  the  Well      - 

Carpenter's  god 

Lice-god       -  -  . 

Dice-god 

General  Kiang 

Worshipping  the  Stone  Lion 

Laotsze         _  -  - 

The  Great  Monad 

Fairy  Crane 

The  Abacus 

Chang  Taoling 

Taoist  Priest     - 

Taoi^t  Abbot 

City  Temple.  Soochow 

Snorter  and  Blower 


PAGE 

310 
310 
310 
310 
310 
311 
312 
312 
313 
313 
314 
316 
317 
320 
320 
321 
322 
323 
324 
325 
326 
331 
333 
338 
341 
342 
343 
346 
.  357 
367 
■  370 
373 

•  375 
376 

•  377 
378 


Illustrations,  25 


Three  Pure  Ones   ------  379 

Lantern  Pagoda             ...---  380 

Pearly  Emperor      ------  383 

List  of  Gods 384 

Tsusze  P'usa           ------  385 

Eastern  Peak    -------  386 

Goddess  of  the  Sea            -----  388 

God  of  Fire 390 

God  of  Pestilence  ------  391 

Three  Mandarins          ------  392 

Five  Holy  Ones     ------  393 

Western  Royal  Mother             -             -             -             -             -  394 

Wang  Ling  Kwan  ------  397 

Leu  Chen  Yang            .--»            =            -  399 

Medicine  god           ..-            =             --  400 

Dr.  Fox             -             -             =            =             •             -             -  400 

Dr.  Hwat'u 401 

Eye  god             ------            -  402 

Small-pox  god         ------  402 

Goddess  of  Midwives  ------  403 

The  Criminal 408 

Bushel  Mother              -             -             -            -            -             -  411 

Shooting  the  Heavenly  Dog          -             -             -             -  412 

Stars  of  Happiness,  Ofiice,  and  Age  -            -            -             -  413 

Age 414 

Cycle  Gods       -            -            -            -            -            -            -  415 

Paper  Gods             -             -             -             -            -            -  416 

List  of  Propitious  Stars           -             -            -            -             -  418 

List  of  Evil  Stars-            -----  419 

Han  Chun  glee  -             -            -            -            -            -             -  422 

T'ih  Kwalee 423 

Chang  Kwulao  -------     423 

Han  Siangtsze         ------  424 

Lan  Ts'aiho -     424 

Tsao  Kwohk'iu       ------  425 

Ho  Sienkoo -     425 


26  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

Gods  of  Marriage  ------  426 

Spreading  the  Lamps  ------  434 

Paper  Bridge          ------  436 

Masses  for  the  Dead  ------  437 

Funeral       -------  441 

Calling  Back  the  Soul              -            -            -            -            -  444 

Accompanying  the  Guest  -----  445 

A  Charm           -            -            -            -            -            -            -  445 

Chung  Kw'ei           .,...-  446 

Lake  Lamps     -------  447 

Paper  Clothing  Score          -----  449 

The  Lily  Boat  (South  China)             -            -            -            -  450 

Travelhng  in  Hades  (North  China)            -             -             -  451 

A  Pillar  to  Tranquillize  Drowned  Spirits      -             -             -  453 

Exorcising  the  Demon  Fox            ...             -  456 

Breath  of  Death           -            -             -            -            -            -  458 

Feasting  the  Spirits            -----  459 

Mara      --------  460 


THE  DRAGON"  IMAGE,  ATO  DEMON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE   THREE   RELIGIONS   DOVETAILED. 

^T^HERE  are  two  considerations  which  make  the  study 
-*-  of  religion  in  China  of  prime  importance.  One  is 
the  vastness  of  the  population,  say  350,000,000,  one- 
fourth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  men  with  moral 
accountability,  intellectual  activity,  and  immortal  destiny, 
liooking  at  this  mighty  host  marching  towards  the  grave, 
surely  the  Christian  should  give  their  eternal  happiness 
or  misery  more  than  a  passing  or  a  passive  thought.  The 
other  is  the  length  of  time  the  three  religions  have  had 
for  their  operation, — Buddhism,  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred, Taoism  two  thousand  five  hundred,  and  Confu- 
cianism four  thousand  years :  they  have  influenced  sixty, 
eighty,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  generations  of  men 
once  living,  but  now  sleeping  in  the  tomb.  The  field  of 
action  has  been  in  an  empire  where  literature  has  been 
progressive,  and  the  arts  have  flourished  ;  amidst  a  high 
order  of  civilisation ;  and  under  a  government  which  has 
seen  Babylon  fall,  Nineveh  destroyed,  and  Greece  and 
Rome  crumble   to   dust.      Surely   if  man   by   searching 


28  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

could  find  out  God,  this  land  of  Sinim  would  have  found 
Him  ages  long  since  passed  away,  and  rejoiced  in  Him  as 
the  living  Grod.  Alas  !  the  people  have  been  drifting 
farther  and  farther  from  the  truth,  and  in  their  develop- 
ment these  hoary  systems  have  not  had  an  upward  but  a 
downward  tendency. 

The  thoughtful  man  asks  :  What  are  the  religions  of 
China  ?  What  relations  do  they  bear  one  to  the  other  ? 
What  do  these  pagan  systems  teach  ?  What  gods  do  the 
people  worship  ?  How  do  they  worship  them  ?  What 
mediation  do  they  offer  for  sin  ?  What  are  their  views 
about  the  immortality  of  the  soul?  What  hopes  have 
they  beyond  the  grave  ?  In  the  following  pages  an 
attempt  will  be  made  to  answer  these  living  ques- 
tions. 

No  Arithmetical  Division.  —  The  words  Confuci- 
anism, Buddhism,  and  Taoism  are  upon  the  lips  of 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  land,  but  the 
Chinese  cannot  be  divided  numerically  among  the  three 
religions.  Some  writers  have  put  down  180,000,000 
Buddhists  to  China  by  the  convenient  method  of 
halving  the  population.  The  Confucianists  are  the 
literary  class,  but  they  worship  in  Buddhist  temples 
and  use  the  Taoist  ritual.  According  to  popular  reckon- 
ing, the  priests  of  Buddhism  and  Taoism  are  the 
only  real  Buddhists  and  Taoists,  as  the  people  do  not 
consider  that  they  themselves  belong  to  these  faiths, 
though  they  worship  regularly  in  the  temples,  look  upon 
the  priestcraft  as  their  ministry,  and  contribute  systemati- 
cally to  the  support  of  these  religions.  To  belong  to 
the  Church  is  "  to  eat  the  Church's  rice."     No  Chinaman 


The   Three  Religions  Dovetailed.  29 

save  a  shaven-head  or  yellow-cap  would  say,  "I  am  a 
Buddhist,"'  or,  "  I  am  a  Taoist."  The  gentry  say,  ''  I  am 
a  Confucianist,"  or  more  generally,  "  We  Confucianists  ;  " 
but  the  term  is  not  used  by  the  mercantile  or  by  the 
working  classes.  Ask  a  shopman,  mechanic,  or  farmer  to 
what  religion  he  belongs,  and  his  answer  would  be  a  look 
of  astonishment,  as  he  does  not  consider  himself  a  member 
of  any  church,  for  he  has  not  passed  a  literary  examina- 
tion, which  is  the  rite  of  baptism  of  Confucianism,  and  he 
does  not  eat  the  rice  of  the  priesthood,  which  is  the  only 
sacrament  Buddhism  and  Taoism  know. 

It  is  a  surprising  phenomenon.  "  China  is  the  only 
country  in  the  world  where  three  systems  could  stand 
side-by-side  without  one  expelling  or  superseding  the 
other."  A  European  cannot  understand  how  any  one 
could  belong  to  three  religions  at  once,  yet  this  is  the 
case  with  the  Chinese.  The  religions  stand  more  in  the 
relation  of  friendly  denominations  at  home  than  of  con- 
tending systems. 

The  Three  in  Partnership. — The  three  have  entered 
into  partnership  in  religious  trade.  For  centuries  Con- 
fucianism stood  alone,  with  its  worship  of  Heaven,  its 
deification  of  ancestors,  and  its  personification  of  nature, 
fearing  equally  to  offend  the  spirits  of  the  mountains 
or  the  genii  of  the  hills.  Next  arose  Taoism,  like  a 
tall  giant,  and  gathering  within  the  folds  of  his 
garments  the  wild  beliefs  which  were  floating  in  the 
impure  atmosphere  of  heathenism,  made  them  into  a 
compound  of  polytheism,  rationalism,  and  superstition, 
and  sent  his  followers  into  the  dark  caves  upon  the 
mountain  sides,   seeking  for   the    elixir    of  immortality. 


30  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

Then  came  the  Indian  religion,  with  its  images  and 
shrines,  its  fumes  of  incense  and  lighted  candles,  its 
monks  in  livery,  and  ritual  in  Sanscrit,  and,  like  a  mighty 
flood,  it  swept  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea-shore ;  the 
people  found  it  exactly  adapted  to  their  carnal  minds, 
and  so  Buddhism  was  accepted  as  an  organised  Church. 
Taoism,  scorning  to  be  left  behind  in  the  race,  and  seek- 
ing to  be ''  all  things  to  all  men,"  reached  out  its  left  hand 


The  Three  Founders. 


to  Buddhism,  and  borrowed  its  legends  and  prayer-books, 
and  with  its  right  hand  it  stole  the  state  gods  of  Con- 
fucianism, and  hid  them  among  its  "household  stuff," 
and  its  devotees,  leaving  the  speculations  of  the  old 
philosopher,  betook  themselves  to  charms,  sorcery, 
and  spiritualism.  At  first  Confucianism  persecuted 
Buddhism  with  fire  and  with  sword,  but  as  it  had  no 
temple    rites    nor    images    to   offer    in   its   place,   after 


The   Three  Religions  Dovetailed.  31 

centuries  these  two  became  silent  partners.  Theoreti- 
cally Confucianism  opposes  idol  worship,  but  practically 
adopts  it,  as  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the 

Emperor  K'anghe. — In  the  "  Sacred  Edict,"  under 
the  maxim,  "  Degrade  strange  religions  in  order  to  exalt 
the  orthodox  doctrine,"  he  says  of  the  Buddhists,  "  The 
sum  of  what  they  do  is  to  feign  calamity  and  felicity, 
misery  and  happiness,  in  order  to  make  merchandise  of 
their  ghostly  and  unexamined  tales.  At  first  they  swindle 
people  out  of  their  money  in  order  to  feed  themselves. 
By  degrees  they  proceed  to  collect  assemblies  to  burn 
incense." 

In  his  celebrated  letter  to  the  priests  at  Poo-too,  A.D. 
1684,  he  says,  "  I  sent  an  officer  to  offer  a  solemn  sacri- 
fice, and  I  wrote  an  inscription  to  be  put  up  over  the 
main  gateway  at  the  entrance  of  the  island.  I  sent  also 
money  out  of  my  own  private  treasury,  to  rebuild  the 
temples  and  to  beautify  and  adorn  the  surroundings.  .  .  . 
Hereafter,  trusting  to  the  energy  of  Buddha  and  com- 
passion of  the  goddess  of  mercy,  perhaps  we  may  have 
merciful  clouds,  seasonable  rain,  the  sweet  dew  and 
balmy  winds ;  thus  the  country  will  have  peace  and 
prosperity,  and  the  people  will  have  happiness  and 
longevity." 

The  Three  are  Relatives. — The  three  are  nearly 
related  and  are  on  similar  bases.  A  priest  pointed  me 
to  a  tripod  and  said  the  three  feet  were  symbolic  of  the 
three  churches.  All  definitions  are  more  or  less  de- 
fective, and  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  description  accurate  ; 
yet  there  are  terms  by  which  we  can  describe  approxi- 
mately the   relationship  of  the   three,    though   none  of 


32  The  Dr-agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


them  present  the   case  save  in  a  one-sided  liglit,  and  so 
are  only  partial  views  of  truth. 

Confucianism  is  based  on  morality,  Buddhism  on 
idolatry,  and  Taoism  on  superstition.  The  first  is  man- 
worship,  the  second  image-worship,  and  the  third  spirit- 
worship.  From  another  point  of  view  the  orthodox 
faith  is  characterized  by  an  absence  of  worship,  the 
Indian  faith  by  the  worship  of  the  seen,  and  the  native 
faith  by  the  fear  of  the  unseen.  Confucianism  deals 
more  with  the  dead  past,  Buddhism  with  the  changing 
future,  while  Taoism  is  occupied  with  the  evils  of  the 
present. 

Considered  in  their  relations  to  philosophy,  the  three 
systems  are  ethical,  physical,  and  metaphysical.  Con- 
fucianism in  its  prominent  characteristics  was  ethical, 
occupying  itself  mainly  with  social  relations  and  civil 
duties.  Taoism,  "  as  developed  by  the  followers  of 
Laotsze,  may  be  characterized  as  physical;  without  any 
conception  of  true  science,  it  was  filled  with  the  idea  of 
inexhaustible  resources  hidden  in  the  elements  of  the 
material  universe."  Buddhism,  as  metaphysical,  was 
engaged  in  "  abstruse  speculations  and  subtle  inquiries 
into  the  nature  and  faculties  of  the  human  mind  .... 
and  the  grounds  of  our  delusive  faith  in  the  independent 
existence  of  an  eternal  world." 

The  three  "  occupy  the  three  corners  of  a  triangle," 
the  moral,  the  ideal,  and  the  material.  Confucianism 
'■'-  discourses  on  virtue  and  vice,  and  the  duty  of  com- 
pliance with  law  and  the  dictates  of  conscience."  As  to 
Buddhism,  its  ''  gods  are  personified  ideas,"  its  worship 
is  "  homage  rendered  to  ideas,"  and  not  "  reverence  paid 


The   TJirce  Religions  Dovetailed.  ^^y 

to  beings  believed  to  be  actually  existing."  In  Taoism 
"  the  soul  is  a  purer  form  of  matter,  which  gains  immor- 
tality by  a  sort  of  chemical  process,  which  transmutes  it 
into  a  more  ethereal  substance,  and  prepares  it  for  being 
transformed  into  the  regions  of  immortality."  "  Support- 
ing, instead  of  destroying  each  other,  they  bind  the  mind 
of  the  nation  in  three-fold  fetters." 

All  Three  National. — The  three  religions  are  all  sup- 
ported by  national  authority.  Theoretically,  Confucianism 
is  the  religion  of  the  State,  the  Established  Church  of 
China.  The  mandarins  are  literary  men,  who  owe  their 
promotion  to  letters,  the  heritage  Confucius  has  left  the 
nation  ;  the  Confucian  temples  are  under  Imperial  patron- 
age ;  and  the  Confucian  worship  is  conducted  by  Govern- 
ment officials  and  maintained  at  Government  expense. 
Buddhism  has  also  been  accepted  as  a  national  religion, 
in  that  temples  have  been  built  by  Imperial  grants, 
monasteries  endowed  from  the  Government  revenues, 
books  have  been  written  by  emperors,  and  the  religion 
acknowledged  as  one  of  the  great  integral  parts  of  the 
State.  Taoism  becomes  a  State  religion,  in  that  the  dead 
ministers  and  generals  who  are  assigned  rank  in  Hades 
have  office  given  them  by  the  Taoist  pope,  become  gods  in 
Taoist  temples,  have  Taoist  priests  as  their  guardians, 
and  are  worshipped  according  to  the  forms  of  Taoism. 
The  State  gods  and  numerous  patron  deities  of  the  cities 
and  market  towns  are  under  the  wing  of  Taoism,  so 
practically  it  is  a  national  religion. 

One  Man  worships  in  Three  Temples. — One 
person  will  conform  to  the  three  modes  of  worship. 
Were  Confucianism  true   to   her  principles    and  to    her 


34  The  D^^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

utterances  against  idolatry,  she  would  draw  a  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  religion  which  bears  the  name  of 
the  sage  and  the  two  polytheistic  systems.  But  what  is 
really  the  practice  of  the  lite7XLti?  On  the  one  hand,  they 
seek  protection  of  the  Taoist  goddess  of  the  Pole  Star, 
while  on  the  other  they  bend  the  knee  before  the  Buddhist 
goddess  of  Mercy,  in  earnest  supplication  for  the  blessing 
of  a  son.  In  the  funeral  procession  will  be  found  priests 
of  both  orders,  and  in  the  masses  for  the  dead  Buddhist 
priests  are  employed  on  certain  fixed  days,  while  Taoist 
priests  are  called  in  to  officiate  upon  others.  A  few  years 
ago,  in  this  city,  praying  for  rain,  on  one  side  of  the 
temple  one  hundred  Buddhists,  and  on  the  other  one 
hundred  Taoists,  were  employed  to  chant,  the  mandarins 
worshipping  between.  The  city  temples  are  generally 
controlled  by  the  Taoist  priests,  but  sometimes  the 
Buddhists  are  in  charge.  The  celibate  priests  of  Buddha 
by  their  vows  leave  their  families,  discard  their  pro- 
genitors, and  have  no  descendants  ;  but,  strange  to  say, 
they  observe  the  six  feasts  of  the  year,  and  join  in  the 
ancestral  worship  of  Confucianism.  Taoism,  like  Buddhism, 
teaches  transmigration ;  both  seek  oracular  responses, 
both  are  vegetarians,  and  both  go  to  the  idols  in  time  of 
sickness.  It  seems  to  make  little  difference  to  the  people 
to  what  temple  they  go  or  what  god  they  worship. 

Many  of  the  gods  are  the  Same. — In  a  Buddhist 
temple  there  are  seen  Taoist  images,  and  in  a  Taoist 
temple  Buddhist  divinities  are  enshrined.  The  Bud- 
dhists call  the  goddess  of  Mercy  "the  great  teacher  to 
open  the  gate,"  and  the  Taoists  call  her  ''The  self- 
existent    Heaven-honoured."       The    Pearly    Emperor    is 


The    TJirce  Religions  Dovetailed.  35 


called  "  Imperial  Kuler  "  by  the  Taoists,  and  "  King  of 
Indra's  Paradise  "  by  the  Buddhists.  The  Confucianists 
call  the  god  of  War  "  Military  Sage,"  the  Buddhists  call 
him  the  "god  of  Protection,"  and  the  Taoists  call  him  the 
"Minister  of  Heaven."  The  Buddhists  and  Taoists  have 
each  the  "  Three  Precious  Ones," — Buddha,  the  law,  and 
the  Church  in  the  first ;  and  wisdom,  the  Scriptures,  and 
the  priests  in  the  second.  They  both  have  the  ten  Idngs 
of  hell,  and  sometimes  in  a  Taoist  temple  there  will  be  a 
double  row  of  buildings  with  images  representing  the 
punishments  in  the  "  earth-prison  "  of  the  Buddhists. 

It  may  be  said  that  many  of  the  lines  of  distinction 
drawn  in  this  work  are  arbitrary ;  some  to  facilitate  classi- 
fication, some  to  prevent  needless  repetition,  and  some 
because  the  position  assigned  seemed  most  appropriate. 
Religion  in  the  heart  of  a  Chinese  is  three-headed,  and  so 
looks  for  help  on  every  side.  "  All  are  Confucianists,  all 
Buddhists,  and  all  Taoists." 

Is  the  Union  Beneficial  ? — What  deductions  may 
we  draw  from  this  commingling  of  the  three  religions  ? 
{\)  There  is  a  total  lack  of  desire  to  know  what  is  true. 
The  question  never  crosses  the  native  mind,  "  What  is 
truth  ?  "  To  accept  conflicting  systems,  and  to  receive 
passively  their  teachings  is  not  ennobling  to  the  intellect. 
(2)  It  does  not  produce  a  healthy  state  of  religious 
sentiment.  The  expounders  of  the  religions  lack  zeal 
for  any,  while  the  people  become  indifferent  to  all,  and 
this  is  the  worst  state  of  mind  the  missionary  has  to 
deal  with.  (3)  The  treaty  of  peace  established  between 
the  three  is  at  the  price  of  true  religion ;  with  the 
priests  it  becomes  a  matter  of  trade, — do  not  "  rob  my 


36  The  Dragon,   Image ,   and  Demon. 


business,"  and  I  will  not  "  cut "  your  gains, — so  it 
becomes  a  question  of  a  "  living  "  between  the  bonzes 
and  yellow-caps,  and  they  find  that  a  united  effort  to 
dupe  the  multitude  is  most  successful  in  reaping  a  harvest 
of  "  filthy  lucre."  If  a  practical  thought  might  be  re- 
corded, it  is  this — the  denominational  differences  of 
Protestants  tend  to  a  healthy  state  of  piety. 

The  Relative  Influence, — It  has  been  stated  above 
that  there  can  be  no  arithmetical  division  of  the  Chinese 
among  the  religions,  so  it  is  impossible  to  give  the 
numbers  of  adherents  to  each,  as  is  done  when  the  census 
is  taken  among  Western  nations,  and  a  tabulated  state- 
ment is  made  of  the  followers  of  different  faiths,  and  of 
the  membership  of  the  several  Protestant  denominations. 
A  proximate  estimate  of  the  relative  influence  of  the 
three  is  all  that  can  be  reckoned.  Confucianism  is 
certainly  the  religion  of  the  scholars  and  the  aristocracy. 
The  appointments  of  the  State  are  many,  and  the  ritual 
very  minute;  and  in  the  worship  of  ancestors,  in  which 
all  unite,  "  ihe  heart  of  the  nation  reposes  more  upon 
the  rites  offered  at  the  family  shrine  than  upon  all  the 
rest."  So,  as  far  as  this  goes,  all  are  Gonfucianists ; 
also  many  are  ashamed  of  Buddhism  and  Taoism,  while 
all  glory  in  Confucianism.  Yet>  save  in  the  article  of 
ancestral  idolatry,  the  women  and  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  have  little  or  no 
connection  with  the  Church  of  the  sages,  while  it  is  theirs 
to  chant  and  pray,  to  burn  incense  and  candles,  to  visit 
the  slirines,  go  on  pilgrimages,  and  worship  the  million 
idols.  In  central  China,  it  is  calculated  that  Buddhism 
has  twice  the   influence  of  Taoism,  as  the  priesthood  is 


The   Thi'ee  Religions  Dovetailed.  2)7 

more  earnest  ;  so  if  Confacianism  and  Buddhism  were 
considered  equal,  they  would  stand  in  this  section  rela- 
tively two,  two,  and  one.  In  north  China  there  is  much 
less  idol  worship,  and  Taoism  ranks  ahead  of  Buddhism, 
so  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  form  a  judgment  except 
by  an  unbiassed  survey  of  the  whole  field.  Taking  this, 
probably  the  three  are  nearly  equal  in  their  hold  upon 
the  affections  of  the  people.  As  to  prestige,  Confucianism 
is  first  in  renown,  and  rises  like  the  tall  mountains, 
whereas  the  fertile  plains  of  the  other  two  systems  are 
more  productive  in  idolatrous  rites. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  LEARNED. 

CONFUCIANISM  is  a  foreign  term,  which  covers  the 
•three  departments  of  the  State  rehgion,  ancestral 
idolatry,  and  the  worship  of  Confucius.  The  Chinese  term 
is  jii  kiao,  or  "  Church  of  the  learned." 

Not  Strictly  a  Religion. — There  is  in  China  no 
generic  term  for  religion  in  the  usual  sense  of  that  word, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  discuss  Confucianism  as  a  religious 
system  with  the  followers  of  that  sect.  The  name  em- 
braces education,  letters,  ethics,  and  political  philosophy. 
Its  head  was  not  a  religious  man,  practised  few  religious 
rites,  and  taught  nothing  about  religion.  In  its  usual 
acceptation  the  term  Confucianist  means  "  a  gentleman 
and  a  scholar  ;  "  he  may  worship  only  once  a  year,  yet 
he  belongs  to  the  Church.  Unlike  its  two  sisters  it  has 
no  priesthood,  and  fundamentally  is  not  a  religion  at  all ; 
yet  with  the  many  rites  grafted  on  the  original  tree  it 
becomes  a  religion,  and  the  one  most  difficult  to  deal 
with.  Considered  as  a  Church,  the  classics  are  its  scrip- 
tures, the  schools  its  churches,  the  teachers  its  priests, 
ethics  its  theology,  and  the  written  character,  so  sacred, 
its  symbol. 

No  Creator.  — It  is  often  asked,  "Have  the  Chinese 


The  Church  of  the  Learned.  39 

any  idea  of  a  Creator  ? "  The  question  is  distinctly 
answered  in  the  negative.  Dr.  Legge  presents  one  sacri- 
ficial prayer  of  the  Emperor  to  Shangte  in  a.d.  1538, 
which  speaks  intelligently  of  creation.  This  prayer 
sparkles  as  a  single  gem  among  the  million  Chinese 
volumes,  whereas  English  secular  literature  abounds  in  its 
allusions  to  the  Creator.  "Of  old,  in  the  beginning,  there 
was  the  great  chaos  without  form  and  dark.  ...  In  the 
midst  thereof  there  presented  itself  neither  form  nor 
sound.  Thou,  0  spiritual  Sovereign,  camest  forth  in  Thy 
presidency,  and  first  didst  divide  the  grosser  parts  from 
the  purer.  Thou  madest  heaven.  Thou  madest  earth. 
Thou  madest  man.  All  things  got  their  being  with 
their  reproducing  power.'*  The  minds  of  thinking  men 
at  this  time  are  too  "  cumbered  with  much  serving " 
their  own  material  interests  to  be  troubled  about  the 
origin  of  matter.  There  are  three  indefinite  theories 
about  the  creation  : — 

1.  That  there  was  no  prime  agent,  but  all  things  came 
of  themselves ;  they  were  spontaneously  produced. 

2.  The  second  hypothesis  is  that  all  things  were  pro- 
duced by  the  agency  of  the  dual  powers  Yang  and  Yin^ 
the  male  and  female  principles  of  nature.  A  native 
author  says,  "  Heaven  was  formless,  an  utter  chaos ;  the 
whole  mass  was  nothing  but  confusion.  Order  was  first 
produced  in  the  pure  ether,  and  out  of  it  the  universe 
came  forth ;  the  universe  produced  air,  and  air  the  milky 
way.  When  the  pure  male  principle  Yang  had  been 
diluted  it  formed  the  heavens  ;  the  heavy  and  thick  parts 
coagulated  and  formed  the  earth.  ,  .  .  From  the  subtle 
essence  of  heaven  and  earth  the  dual  principles  Yang  and 


40  Ihe  Di^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Yin  were  formed ;  from  their  joint  o^Deration  came  the 
four  seasons,  and  these,  putting  forth  their  energies,  gave 
birth  to  all  the  products  of  the  earth.  The  warm  in- 
fluence of  the  Yang  being  condensed  produced  fire,  and 
the  finest  parts  of  the  fire  formed  the  sun.  The  cold 
exhalations  of  the  Yin  being  likewise  condensed  produced 
water,  and  the  finest  parts  of  the  watery  substance  formed 
the  moon.  By  the  seminal  influence  of  the  sun  and  moon 
came  the  stars.  Thus  heaven  was  adorned  with  sun,  moon, 
and  stars ;  the  earth  also  received  rain,  rivers,  and  dust." 


Pankoo. — These  ex- 
planations were  "too 
subtle  for  the  common 
people,"  so  they  ascribe 
the  "  dividing  of  heaven 
and  earth "  to  the  first 
man,  Pankoo,  who  "  had 
the  herculean  task  to 
mould  the  chaos  which 
produced  him,  and  to 
chisel  out  the  earth  that 
was  to  contain  him." 
This  primal  individual — 
looking  like  a  dwarfish 
specimen  of  a  man,  and 
clothed  like  a  bear  — 
"they  picture  holding  a  chisel  and  mallet  in  his  hands, 
splitting  and  fashioning  vast  masses  of  granite.  Behind 
the  openings  his  powerful  hand  has  made  are  seen  the 
sun,    moon,   and   stars ;    monuments   of  his   stupendous 


Pankoo. 


The  Church  of  the  Learned.  41 


labours.  His  efforts  were  continued  18,000  years,  and 
by  small  degrees  he  and  his  work  increased  ;  the  heavens 
rose,  the  earth  spread  out  and  thickened,  and  Pankoo  grew 
in  stature  six  feet  every  day,  till,  his  labours  done,  he 
died  for  the  benefit  of  his  handiwork.  His  head  became 
mountains,  his  breath  wind  and  clouds,  and  his  voice 
thunder ;  his  limbs  were  changed  into  the  foilr  poles, 
his  veins  into  rivers,  and  his  flesh  into  fields ;  his  beard 
was  turned  into  stars,  his  skin  and  hair  into  herbs  and 
trees,  and  his  teeth,  bones,  and  marrow  into  metals, 
rocks,  and  precious  stones ;  his  dropping  sweat  increased 
to  rain ;  and  lastly,  the  insects  which  stuck  to  his  body 
luere  transformed  into  jjeople  I " 

No  Sabbath — There  is  no  day  of  rest  in  the  liand  of 
Sinim,  and  the  requirements  of  the  fourth  commandment 
are  the  principal  obstacle  alleged  by  many  in  the  way 
of  accepting  Christianity.  The  Chinese  have  a  holiday 
of  about  two  weeks  at  New  Year,  and  a  respite  at  the 
feasts  ;  rnd  in  this  city  clerks  are  entitled  to  three  half- 
days  a  month  at  the  discretion  of  the  employer.  They 
have  not  suffered  physically  from  the  want  of  a  day  of 
rest  as  other  people,  because  they  do  not  exercise  their 
minds  on  such  high  subjects  as  Western  nations,  neither 
do  they  work  with  such  muscular  activity ;  but  no  one 
can  witness  "  the  wearied  condition  of  society "  where 
there  is  no  Sunday,  and  not  long  for  the  day  when  the 
seventh  part  of  the  time  may  be  observed  as  a  day  of  rest. 

The  Splendid  Morality. — The  moral  code  known  as 
Confucian  deserves  the  world-wide  commendations 
bestowed  upon  it,  for  as  a  teacher  of  ethics  the  sage  of 
China  stands    in    the  foremost  rank   of  practical  philo- 


42  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


sophers.  It  proves  that  the  Grentiles  *'  are  a  law  unto 
themselves,"  and  "  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in 
their  hearts/'  The  Confucian  morality  is  one  great 
element  of  stability  in  Chinese  institutions,  and  one 
cause  of  the  remarkable  duration  of  this  ancient  empire. 

"  It  would  indeed  be  hard  to  over  estimate  the  influence 
of  Confucius  in  his  ideal  jprincely  scholar^  and  the  power 
for  good  this  conception  ever  since  has  exerted  over  his 
race.  It  might  be  compared  to  the  glorious  work  of 
the  sculptor  on  the  Acropolis  at  Athens. — that  matchless 
statue  more  than  seventy  feet  in  height,  whose  casque 
and  spear  of  burnished  brass  glittered  above  all  the 
temples  and  high  places  of  the  city,  and  engaged  the 
constant  gaze  of  the  mariner  on  the  near  ^gean ;  guid- 
ing his  onward  course,  yet  still  ever  beyond  his  reach. 
The  immeasurable  influence  in  after  ages  of  the  character 
thus  portrayed  proves  how  lofty  was  his  own  standard, 
and  the  national  conscience  has  ever  since  assented  to  the 
justice  of  the  portrait." 

The  ideal  teacher  is  thus  described :  "  He  is  entirely 
sincere  and  perfect  in  love.  He  is  magnanimous, 
generous,  benign,  and  full  of  forbearance.  He  is  pure  in 
heart,  free  from  selfishness,  and  never  swerves  from  the 
path  of  duty  in  his  conduct.  He  is  deep  and  active,  like 
a  fountain,  sending  forth  his  virtues  in  due  season.  He 
is  seen,  and  men  revere  him  ;  he  speaks,  and  men  believe 
him ;  he  acts,  and  men  are  gladdened  by  him.  He 
possesses  all  heavenly  virtues.     He  is  one  with  heaven." 

The  classics  discourse  on  the  "  five  relations  "  of  prince 
and  subject,  father  and  son,  husband  and  wife,  brother 
and  brother,  friend  and  friend  ;  they  expand  the  reciprocal 


TJie  CJiurcJi  of  the  Learned.  43 

duties,  and  enforce  the  moral  obligations  resting  on  each 
party.  The  ''  five  virtues "  are  upon  the  lips  of  the 
people,  and  daily  they  speak  of  ''  benevolence,  righteous- 
ness, propriety,  knowledge,  and  faith."  The  precepts  of 
the  sages  have  filtered  down  through  the  masses,  and 
have  become  staple  topics  of  common  conversation. 

Confucianism  makes  ''rectify  yourself''  the  leading 
dogma  of  political  economy.  "  Wishing  to  order  well 
their  states,  they  first  regulated  their  families.  Wishing 
to  regulate  their  families,  they  first  cultivated  their 
persons.  Wishing  to  cultivate  their  persons,  they  first 
rectified  their  hearts.  Wishing  to  rectify  their  hearts, 
they  first  sought  to  be  sincere  in  their  thoughts." 
"Their  thoughts  being  sincere,  their  hearts  were  then 
rectified.  Their  hearts  being  rectified,  their  persons 
were  cultivated.  Their  persons  being  cultivated,  their 
families  were  regulated.  Their  families  being  regulated, 
their  states  were  rightly  governed." 

The  central  sun  of  the  Confucian  ethics  is  filial  piety ; 
this  is  the  keynote  of  the  song  the  sages  sing,  the  key- 
stone of  the  moral  arch,  the  key  that  unlocks  the  mystery 
of  the  antiquity  of  the  nation  and  the  stability  of  its 
institutions.  The  solid  rock  on  which  China  is  founded 
is  that  the  son  should  honour  his  father,  and  the  inferior 
should  obey  his  superior. 

Vice  not  Deified. — One  remarkable  trait  of  Chinese 
idolatry  is  that  there  is  no  deification  of  sensuality, 
which,  in  the  name  of  religion,  could  shield  and  counte- 
nance those  licentious  rites  and  orgies  that  have  ener- 
vated the  minds  of  worshippers,  and  polluted  their  hearts 
in   so  many  pagan  countries.     "  The   Chinese   have  not 


44  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

endeavoured  to  lead  the  votaries  of  pleasure — falsely  so- 
called — further  down  the  road  tp  ruin,  by  making  its  path 
lie  through  a  temple,  and  trying  to  sanctify  the  acts 
by  putting  them  under  the  protection  of  a  goddess,  nor 
does  the  mythology  teem  with  disgusting  relations  of  the 
amours  of  their  deities."  "Vice  is  in  a  great  degree 
kept  out  of  sight,  as  well  as  out  of  religion."  This  is  true 
of  the  three  religions,  and  is  owing  chiefly  to  the  com- 
manding influence  of  Confucianism.  However  corrupt 
in  practice  the  people  may  be,  the  precept  is  printed 
on  their  minds  and  repeated  by  their  lips,  and,  to  a 
casual  observer,  the  condition  of  society  in  regard  to 
virtue  is  as  smooth  as  the  placid  bosom  of  a  lake. 

The  Heart. — The  first  little  primer  put  into  the  hands 
of  a  Chinese  boy  after  he  learns  a  few  hundred  "  square 
characters  "  is  the  "  Three  Character  Classic,"  which  begins, 
"  Man's  nature  is  originally  good."  The  philosopher 
Mencius  discourses  at  considerable  length  on  the  good- 
ness of  human  nature.  He  says,  "  The  tendency  of  man's 
nature  to  good  is  like  the  tendency  of  water  to  flow  down- 
wards. There  are  none  but  have  this  tendency  to  good, 
just  as  all  water  flows  downwards."  In  justice  to  the  ancient 
teacher  it  should  be  said  that  he  in  a  degree  modifies  this 
his  most  extreme  statement,  and  holds  that  man's  condition 
is  owing  to  his  education  and  surroundings.  "  The  trees 
of  the  New  Mountain  were  once  beautiful.  .  .  .  They 
were  hewn  down  by  axes  and  bills,  and  could  they  retain 
their  beauty  ?  .  .  .  Through  the  nourishing  influence  of 
the  rain  and  dew,  they  were  not  without  buds  and  sprouts 
springing  forth,  but  then  came  the  cattle  and  goats  and 
browsed  upon  them.     To  these  things  is  owing  the  bare 


The  CJiiwch  of  the  Learned.  45 

and  stript  appearance  of  the  mountain  ;  .  .  .  but  is  this 
the  nature  of  the  mountain  ?  And  so  also  of  what  pro- 
perly belongs  to  man ;  shall  it  be  said  that  the  mind  of 
any  man  was  without  benevolence  and  righteousness  ? 
The  way  in  which  a  man  loses  his  proper  goodness  of  mind 
is  like  the  way  in  which  the  trees  are  denuded  by  axes 
and  bills.  Hewn  down  day  after  day,  can  the  mind  retain 
its  beauty  ?  But  there  is  a  development  of  its  life  day 
and  night,  and  in  the  calm  air  of  the  morning,  just 
between  night  and  day,  the  mind  feels  in  a  degree  those 
desires  and  aversions  which  are  proper  to  humanity,  but 
the  feeling  is  not  strong,  and  it  is  fettered  and  destroyed 
by  what  takes  place  during  the  day." 

The  opinions  of  Mencius  were  controverted  by  the 
philosopher  Seun,  who  took  as  his  text,  "  The  nature  of 
man  is  evil."  All  the  Chinese,  how^ever,  accept  the  inter- 
pretation of  Choofootsze,  whose  commentary  is  memorised 
in  the  schools,  and  he  teaches  in  the  baldest  terms  the 
essential  goodness  of  human  nature. 

''  The  heart,  the  heart,  the  heart,"  is  a  motto  often 
engraved  in  the  solid  walls  of  the  temple,  and  the  triple 
enunciation  of  the  text  is  equal  in  force  to  a  sermon.  Glance 
above  (on  the  sacred  walls),  and  you  will  see  the  sign, 
"  Rectify  the  heart,"  a  solemn  exhortation  to  morality. 

The  doctrine  of  Confucianism  is,  first,  that  the  heart  is 
good ;  that  it  is  good  by  nature,  and  that  the  thoughts  of 
the  heart,  flowing  in  their  natural  channels,  are  pure. 
Second,  that  a  man  may  rectify  his  own  heart  ;  that  he 
can  exercise  a  control  over  it,  and  when  it  deviates  from 
the  right  way  he  can,  by  his  own  power,  nourish  and 
restore  it  to  the  path  of  virtue. 


46  The  Dragon,  Lnage,  and  De^non. 


Conscience. — The  Church  of  the  learned  pronounces 
distinctly  its  teachings  about  conscience,  that  inward 
monitor  in  the  soul  of  man  which  approves  what  is  good 
and  warns  of  the  evil.  Mencius  says,  "  The  heart  of  pity 
is  the  principle  of  benevolence ;  the  heart  which  perceives 
shame  and  dislike  is  the  principle  of  righteousness;  a 
modest  and  complaisant  h^art  is  the  principle  of  propriety ; 
the  heart  which  approves  and  disapproves  (i.e.,  conscience) 
is  the  principle  of  knowledge.  Without  the  heart  of  pity 
he  is  not  a  man,  without  a  heart  to  perceive  shame  and 
dislike  he  is  not  a  mau,  without  a  modest  and  complaisant 
heart  he  is  not  a  man,  without  a  heart  to  approve  and 
disapprove  (i.e.,  without  a  conscience)  he  is  not  a  man." 
The  people  have  many  proverbs  of  similar  import;  for 
example,  "  Do  not  violate  your  conscience ; "  "  Never  do 
what  your  conscience  cannot  endure ; "  "  Cheat  your 
conscience,   and  a  life's  happiness  is  destroyed." 

The  Confucianist — We  are  not  simply  to  look  at 
Confucianism  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  sacred  books, — its 
"  Five  Classics "  bearing  an  exceedingly  distant  analogy 
to  the  Old  Testament,  and  its  "  Four  Books  "  to  the  New, 
— but  at  the  religion  as  it  is  illustrated  in  the  lives  and 
characters  of  its  professed  followers.  "  The  tree  is  known 
by  its  fruits"  is  a  principle  accepted  not  only  by  the 
adherents  of  Christianity,  but  a  dogma  of  universal 
application.  Let  us  measure  the  orthodox  faith  of  China 
by  this  standard.  The  contempt  towards  the  foreign 
barbarian,  the  opposition  to  Western  progress,  the 
looking  backward  instead  of  forward,  is  characteristic 
number  one.  The  second  characteristic  is  pride;  the 
upturned  nose,   the  scornful  eye,   the   arched  brow,  the 


TJie  CJiurcJi  of  the  JLearned.  4  7 

curled  lip,  the  disdainful  smile,  reveal  what  the  mind 
thinks  of  the  foreigner.  The  iliird  is  parade ;  alms  to 
be  given  in  public,  sparrows  counted  one,  two,  three, 
four,  to  seven  hundred,  when  set  free  from  the  snare  of 
the  fowler  at  the  front  door,  ancestors  worshipped 
publicly,  all  "  to  be  seen  of  men."  Number  four  is  a 
jyicayune  vieiv  of  sin;  to  misuse  written  paper,  to 
trample  on  a  grain  of  rice,  to  hold  up  wet  clothes  on  the 
person  to  dry  in  front  of  the  kitchen  range  (or  god),  these 
are  the  great  sins  of  the  Pharisees,  who  "  tithe  the  mint 
and  the  anise."  The  fifth  national  characteristic  is  the 
oppression  of  the  poor  and  perversion  of  justice,  as  is  seen 
when  there  is  a  failure  of  the  harvest,  and  the  tenant, 
unable  to  pay  the  exorbitant  rent  of  twelve  dollars  an 
acre,  is  beaten,  and  cangued  for  six  months. 

Want  of  Religion. — There  is  not  a  religion  on  the 
face  of  the  globe  where  the  followers  have  less  religion 
than  in  the  Church  of  the  learned.  The  men  of  China ! 
The  prevailing  malady  is  irreligion  ;  happily  the  disease 
is  not  so  widespread  among  the^  peasantry.  One  cause 
is  that  the  Confucian  books  do  not  teach  religion. 
Another  is  the  opposition  in  former  times  of  the  Con- 
fucianists  to  idolatry.  A  third  cause  is  the  prevailing 
scepticism  of  the  gentry;  they  do  not  believe  in  God, 
in  heaven,  in  hell,  or  in  future  rewards  and  punishments. 
The  neglect  of  worship  is  a  fourth  reason  ;  some  sacrifice 
simply  at  the  feasts,  others  pray  only  once  a  year.  As 
a  fifth  cause  the  great  worldly-mindedness  of  the  Chinese 
may  be  assigned ;  their  hearts  are  fixed  on  gain ;  they 
are   ''  carnal,"   of  this  "  earth,  earthy." 

Failed  to  Elevate. — That   Confucianism  has  exerted 


48  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

a  mighty  influence  for  good  cannot  be  denied,  yet  though 
it  has  been  a  conserving  intellectual  power  in  the  land, 
it  has  failed  to  elevate  the  nation  morally  and  spiritually. 
Confucianism  teaches  truthfulness,  but  do  not  the  people 
"  delight  in  lying "  and  "  love  a  lie  "  ?  Is  not  their 
ceremonious  etiquette  a  cover  for  mendacity,  "  the 
ancestor  of  all  their  sins,"  and  the  one  of  all  others 
which  makes  Western  nations  hold  them  in  contempt? 
Experience  proves  that  this  is  not  confined  to  the 
illiterate,  but  that  the  higher  we  go  in  the  ranks  of 
society  the  more  skill  is  displayed  in  the  disregard  of 
truth.  Honesty  is  taught  in  the  scriptures  of  the 
"  Five  Classics  and  Four  Books,"  and  the  glib  tongues 
of  the  people  show  with  what  facility  they  can  repeat 
the  precepts  of  the  ancients ;  but  when  the  man- 
darins, the  great  lights  in  the  Church  of  the  learned, 
receive  a  salary  of  S600  per  annum,  and  clear  $30,000, 
it  suggests  doubts  as  to  impeccability.  This  system  of 
dishonesty,  like  a  stream  when  traced  back  from  the  mouth 
to  its  source,  runs  backwards  through  all  gradations  of 
society,  diminishing  in  its  volume  in  proportion  as  the 
width  of  the  channel  narrows  the  opportunity  for 
"  squeezing."  Emblazoned  on  door  and  gateway  is  the 
maxim,  "  Of  ten  thousand  wickednesses  fornication  is  the 
chief;"  but  in  what  country  is  the  seventh  commandment 
violated  more  in  the  heart,  in  the  eye,  or  in  the  speech  ? 
Thus  Confucianism,  a  moral  system,  pure  and  noble  in  its 
teachings,  has  failed  to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  race. 

The  Citadel. — The  foremost  opposition  to  the  intro- 
duction  of  Christianity  comes  from  those  who  esteem 
themselves  the  followers  of  Confucius.     They  assent   to 


The  CJmrcIi  of  the  Learned.  49 

our  views  about  the  "  emptiness "  of  Buddhism,  the 
deceptions  of  Taoism,  the  character  of  the  priesthood, 
the  mud  and  stone  of  the  images,  but  when  we  gently 
allude  to  ancestral  idolatry,  the  worship  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  the  sacrifices  of  the  mandarins,  they  are 
offended.  Also,  the  Confucianists  do  the  thinking  for 
the  people ;  they  have  the  minds,  the  books,  the  schools, 
and  the  offices.  Without  a  long  residence  in  the  country 
it  is  hard  to  imagine  the  influence  of  a  penniless  scholar 
in  his  neighbourhood,  and  the  mental  control  he  exercises 
over  the  minds  of  the  peasantry.  More  than  this,  the 
graduates  at  the  Grovernment  examinations  form  a 
clique  or  ''ring,"  and  their  voice  is  the  unwritten  law 
of  China,  their  authority  above  that  of  His  Excellency 
the  Grovernor.  The  lamented  Carstairs  Douglas  said 
at  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Conference  of  1877,  "Con- 
fucianism is  the  citadel :  take  it,  and  the  war  is  ended.'' 


CHAPTEK   III. 


THE   SEE   OF   PEKING. 


Heaven. — The  Chinese  often  speak  of  Heaven,  and 
at  New  Year,  in  the  open  courts  of  the  houses, 
the  worship  of  Heaven  is  conducted.  The  proverbs  re- 
lating to  Heaven  are  on  every  lip :  "  It  is  man's  to 
scheme,  it  is  Heaven's  to  accomplish ;  "  "  Nothing  can 
escape    the    eye    of    Heaven ; "    "  Man    has   a   thousand 

s  ch  emes,  but 
they  are  not 
equal  to  one 
scheme  of  Hea- 
ven ;  ""  "  There  is 
nothing  partial  in 
the  ways  of  Hea- 
ven ;  "  "  Man 
does  not  know, 
but  Heaven 
knows ; "  "  You 
may  deceive 
"  Kiches  and  honour 


"Relying  on  Heaven,  we  Eat  Rice. 


men,  you  cannot  deceive  Heaven 
are  appointed  by  Heaven." 

The  most  common  proverb  is,  "  We  rely  upon  Heaven 
for  our  food ;  "  and  this  picture  of  the  character  for  Heaven, 


The  See  of  Peking.  51 

with  a  man,  rice-bowl  and  chop-sticks  in  hand,  leaning 
upon  great  Heaven,  hangs  in  the  post-offices,  and  suggests 
an  humble  trust  in  a  higher  power  for  our  daily  food. 
The  solemn  oath  is  taken  by  the  finger  pointing  to  Heaven. 
They  say,  "  Above  the  heavens  is  Heaven,"  which  tells  of 
the  striving  of  the  immortal  mind  after  the  infinite.  The 
term  may  be  used  very  conveniently  in  preaching,  as  in 
the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son  the  wanderer  says,  "  I 
have  sinned  against  Heaven." 

The  Son  of  Heaven. — The  chief  god  of  China  is 
Heaven,  and  the  Emperor  of  China  is  his  earthly 
representative ;  "he  is  regarded  as  the  vicegerent  of 
Heaven,  especially  chosen  to  govern  all  nations,"  and 
is  co-ordinate  with  Heaven,  from  whom  he  directly 
derives  his  right  and  power  to  rule  among  men.  His 
titles  are  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  "  Wise  son  of  Heaven," 
"  Heavenly  Emperor,"  "  Heavenly  Sovereign," — "  terms 
which  are  given  him  as  the  ruler  of  the  world  by  the  gift 
of  Heaven."  The  Emperor  recognises  Heaven  as  his 
Father,  and  the  people  recognise  the  Emperor  as  the 
correlative  of  Heaven,  and  no  title  do  the  subjects  of  His 
Imperial  Majesty  delight  more  to  use  than  "The  Son  of 
Heaven." 

The  Emperor  receives  his  appointment  from  Heaven. 
B.C.  2200  it  was  said  to  Yu  the  Great,  "  August  Heaven 
regarded  you  with  its  favouring  degree,  and  suddenly  you 
obtained  all  within  the  four  seas,  and  became  sovereign  of 
the  empire."  It  is  customary  for  a  monarch,  when  he 
ascends  the  throne,  or,  as  the  Chinese  say,  "  when  he 
receives  from  Heaven  and  revolving  nature  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,"  to  issue  an    inaugural    decree.     In 


52  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


A.D.  1820,  four  thousand  years  after  the  date  above,  the 
Emperor  Tao-kwang  heralded  his  coronation  day  in  the 
following  language :  "  That  Heaven's  throne  should  not 
be  long  vacant,  I  purpose  on  October  3rd  devoutly  to 
announce  the  event  to  Heaven  .  .  .  and  then  shall  sit 
down  on  the  Imperial  throne." 

In  the  Celestial  empire  the  terminology  of  the  court 
accords  with  the  appellation,  "  The  Son  of  Heaven." 
The  kingdom  is  "  all  under  Heaven,"  the  dynasty  is  "  the 
Heavenly  dynasty,"  the  throne  is  the  "  Heaven-con- 
ferred seat,"  the  revenues  are  the  "Heaven-appointed 
emoluments,"  famine  and  pestilence  are  the  "judgments 
of  Heaven,"  and  the  emperors  are  to  walk  in  "  Heaven's 
way."  "  What's  in  a  name  ?  "  Why,  there  is  ancestry, 
and  glory,  and  stability  in  this  magic  title  "  Son  of 
Heaven." 

The  Son  of  Heaven  as  the  Federal  Head  of  His 
People. — "  The  idea  of  expiation  is  found  in  the  earlier 
and  later -history  of  China."  It  is  a  solemn  event  when 
the  Emperor,  the  vicegerent  of  Heaven,  the  high-priest  of 
the  nation,  in  his  vicarious  character  descends  from  his 
throne,  robes  himself  in  sackcloth,  makes  public  confes- 
sion, becomes  the  substitute  for  his  people,  and  appears  as 
the  sin-bearer.  The  doctrines  of  substitution  and  federal 
headship,  as  expounded  by  decree  and  example  in  \he 
Established  Church  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  are  set  forth 
in  the  two  following  proclamations,  written  thirty-six 
centuries  apart : — 

B.C.  1766,  the  Emperor  Tang  says:  "When  guilt  is 
found  anywhere  in  you  who  occupy  the  myriad  regions, 
let  it  rest  on  me,  the  One  Vizv      When  guilt  is  found  in 


TJie  See  of  Peking.  53 


me,  the  One  Man,  it  shall  not  attach  to  you  who  occupy 
the  myriad  regions."  During  seven  years  of  famine  it 
was  suggested  that  a  human  victim  should  be  offered  in 
sacrifice  to  Heaven.  The  Emperor  said,  "  If  a  man  must 
be  the  victim,  I  will  be  he."  "  He  fasted,  cut  off  his  hair 
and  nails,  and  in  a  plain  cart  drawn  by  white  horses, 
clad  in  rushes,  in  the  guise  of  a  sacrificial  victim,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  a  forest  of  mulberry  trees,  and  there  prayed, 
asking  to  what  error  or  crime  of  his  life  the  calamity  was 
owing." 

In  the  time  of  a  severe  drought,  the  Emperor  Tao- 
kwang,  July  24th,  1832,  offered  the  following  prayer  : 
^'  Oh  !  alas  !  Imperial  Heaven  !  .  .  .  this  year  the  drought 
is  most  unusual.  Summer  is  past,  and  no  rain  has  fallen. 
...  I,  the  minister  of  Heaven,  am  placed  over  mankind, 
and  am  responsible  for  keeping  the  world  in  order,  and  for 
tranquillizing  the  people.  Although  it  is  now  impossible 
for  me  to  eat  or  sleep  with  composure,  although  I  am 
scorched  with  grief  and  tremble  with  anxiety,  still,  after 
all,  no  genial  and  copious  showers  have  been  obtained. 
.  .  .  The  sole  cause  is  the  daily  deeper  atrocity  of  my 
sins :  but  little  sincerity  and  little  devotion.  .  .  .  Hence 
I  have  been  unable  to  move  Heaven's  heart,  and  bring 
down  abundant  blessings.  ...  I  examine  myself  and 
consider  my  errors,  looking  up  and  hoping  that  I  may 
obtain  pardon.  .  .  .  Prostrate  I  beg  Imperial  Heaven  to 
pardon  my  ignorance  and  stupidity,  and  to  grant  me  self- 
renovation,  for  myriads  of  people  are  involved  by  me,  the 
One  Man.  My  sins  are  so  numerous  it  is  difficult  to 
escape  from  them." 

The  Minister  of  Religion. — In  the  Grand  Council  of 


54  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Peking  there  is  a  Minister  of  Eeligion,  or  rather  a 
Minister  of  Rehgious  Rites  and  Ceremonies,  who  has 
charge  of  the  ritual  of  the  State.  One  of  the  six  Boards 
is  the  Board  of  Rites.  Among  the  duties  of  this  board  is 
the  superintendence  of  "the  rites  to  be  observed  in 
worshipping  deities  and  spirits  of  departed  monarchs, 
sages,  and  worthies,"  and  "  in  saving  the  sun  and  moon 
when  ecUpsed." 

The  Mandarin  Priests. — Very  few  foreigners  have 
any  conception  of  the  amount  of  rehgious  worship 
required  of  the  mandarins,  and  how  they  are  the 
Levites  of  the  Confucian  dispensation.  Take  as  an 
example  the  Governor  of  Soochow.  He  acts  as  chief 
priest  twice  a  year  at  the  sacrifices  to  Confucius,  at  the 
small  altars  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  at  the  temple  of  the 
Worthies,  at  the  temples  of  the  Crown  Princes,  and  in 
time  of  drought  at  the  temple  of  the  Five  Dragons. 
Twice  a  month  he  goes  to  see  his  apotheosis,  the 
Governor  of  Hades,  and  also  worships  at  the  new  and 
full  moon  at  each  of  the  temples  of  the  god  of  Litera- 
ture, War,  Wind,  the  Sun,  Fire,  Agriculture,  the  Empress 
of  Heaven,  and  the  Chinese  ^sculapius.  Sometimes  he 
sends  a  deputy.  There  is  not  one  of  the  officials,  whether 
high  or  low,  who  does  not  have  his  appropriate  list  of 
divinities  to  be  adored,  so  that  the  State  religion  requires 
a  good  proportion  of  his  time,  and  there  are  a  number  of 
tem})les  committed  to  his  s[;ecial  charge. 

Imperial  Gold. — Some  estimate  of  how  great  are  the 
sums  spent  by  the  Chinese  Government  in  idolatry  may 
be  made  by  a  view  of  the  magnificent  temples  at  the 
capital,   for   "  there  is  nothing  which   more    arrests  the 


TJie  See  of  Peking.  55 

attention  of  a  visitor  to  Peking  than  the  number,  size, 
and  costliness  of  the  temples  which  have  been  built  by 
the  Grovernment,  and  which  are  supported  by  its 
revenues  ;  "  by  a  view  of  the  Confucian  temples  through- 
out the  empire,  the  city  temples,  the  grants  to  Buddhist 
temples,  and  by  the  official  rebuilding  of  temples ;  also 
by  the  money  spent  in  animal  sacrifices,  in  incense  and 
candles,  and  in  paper  sycee,  etc.  There  is  a  very  lavish 
expenditure  of  silver  in  idolatry,  and  "  it  would  be  hard 
to  say  to  which  religion  the  Grovernment  patronage  is 
most  given,  it  is  so  freely  given  to  them  all."  To  carry 
out  its  architectural  designs  and  maintain  its  religious 
services,  there  is  required  a  constant  drain  on  the  national 
exchequer. 

An  Anchor  to  the  Nation. — We  naturally  desire  to 
inquire,  ''  What  are  the  reasons  for  the  remarkable  dura- 
tion of  the  Chinese  people?"  The  first  that  suggests 
itself  is  filial  piety,  the  inculcation  of  obedience  to 
parents,  teachers,  and  rulers,  "that  thy  days  may  be 
long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee." 
Another  is  the  triple  constitution  of  the  government ;  a 
monarchy  of  the  rulers,  an  aristocracy  of  the  scholars, 
and  a  democracy  of  the  people.  A  third  and  potent 
reason  is  their  religion ;  their  faith  in  the  power  or 
powers  above,  controlling  the  destiny  of  the  empire  and 
the  fortunes  of  the  people.  As  a  reverse  picture,  behold 
unhappy  France ! 

The  Imperial  religion  has  recognised  Heaven  as  regu- 
lating the  affairs  of  the  Grovernment,  and  so  by  the  will 
of  Heaven  a  dynasty  may  change,  and  by  the  will  of 
Heaven  a   new  emperor  ascend  the  throne,  and  by  the 


56  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

will  of  Heaven  the  capital  be  removed,  yet  in  this  sense 
of  reference  to  a  higher  power  there  is  permanency. 
While  recognising  the  control  of  Heaven,  China  has  at 
the  same  time  avoided  the  evils  of  Church  and  State, 
and  also  the  evils  of  a  hierarchy  with  its  government 
by  a  priesthood. 

Eeligion  in  China  is  recognised  in  the  State,  in  the 
temple,  and  in  the  family.  The  first  is  a  pompous 
ritual,  yet  these  ceremonials  are  a  conserving  power ;  the 
second  is  a  ivooden  (to  use  a  native  term  for  stolid, 
blockish)  homage,  yet  the  worshipper  is  affected  by  the 
external  sounds  and  symbols  ;  the  third,  family  worship, 
is  formal,  yet  addresses  itself  more  directly  to  the  heart. 
If  an  appeal  for  family  religion  in  lands  of  light  might 
be  presented,  it  may  be  based  upon  the  fact  that  the 
great  conflict  of  Christianity  here  is  not  with  the  State 
or  temple  worship,  but  with  the  Church  in  the  home. 
As  the  Samsonian  strength  of  Chinese  paganism  lies  in 
its  family  altar,— though  it  is  only  erected  a  few  times 
a  year, — so  the  power  of  Protestantism  is  not  in  denomi- 
national wealth  or  influence,  nor  in  the  numbers  who 
assemble  at  church,  but  in  the  faithfulness  of  the  father, 
the  patriarch  and  priest  of  the  home,  in  daily  assembling 
the  household  to  read  the  word,  sing  the  psalm,  and  bow 
at  the  throne  of  grace. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   HIGH-PRIEST   OF   CHINA. 

rr^HE  city  of  Peking  consists  of  three  cities  in  one  :  the 
-■-  Tartar  city  to  the  north,  about  thirteen  miles  in 
circumference  ;  the  Chinese  city  to  the  south,  twenty-two 
miles  around,  the  south  wall  of  the  Tartar  city  forming 
the  north  wall  of  the  Chinese  city  ;  and  the  Imperial  or 
Forbidden  city,  which  lies  within  the  Tartar  city,  and 
in  which  are  the  palaces,  royal  park,  lake,  and  artificial 
hill.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  Chinese  city  is  a  park, 
a  mile  square,  which  contains  the  famous  Temple  and 
Altar  of  Heaven.  "  Within  a  second  wall,  which  surrounds 
the  sacred  buildings,  rises  a  copse  of  splendid  and  thickly 
growing  cypress  trees,  reminding  one  of  the  solemn 
shades  in  the  vicinity  of  famous  temples  in  ancient 
Greece."  Besides  the  Temple  and  Altar  of  Heaven,  there 
are  the  Temple  of  Imperial  Expanse,  the  Fasting  Palace, 
halls  for  the  royal  retinue  and  musicians,  and  buildings 
for  the  sacrificial  vessels  and  the  slaughter  of  animals. 
The  Temple  of  Heaven. — The  Temple  of  Heaven, 
as  it  is  called  by  foreigners,  or  more  properly  "  The 
Temple  for  Praying  for  a  Propitious  Year,"  is  the  chief 
attraction  of  the  park.  It  is  not  built  on  the  ground, 
but  upon  the  top  of  the  north  altar,  which  consists 
of  three  marble   terraces,   twenty- seven    feet  in  height, 


58 


The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


with  marble  balustrades,  the  marble  top  of  the  altar 
forming  the  floor  of  the  temple,  which  rises  to  the 
height  of  ninety-nine  feet.  The  building  is  circular 
with  a  spacious  dome,  made  by  a  triple  roof  of  azure 
tiles,  the  highest  section  only  covering  the  centre  of 
the     temple,    and    is    ornamented    with  .  rich     carving 


Temple  of  Heaven. 


and  painting.  As  the  round  windows  are  shaded  by 
Venetians  of  blue  glass  rods  strung  together,  the  light 
of  the  sun  within  becomes  an  ethereal  blue.  This  edifice, 
with  the  rare  symmetry  of  its  proportions,  resting  on 
the  marble  eminence,  is  the  most  remarkable  and  im- 
posing structure  in  the  capital.  Its  dome,  the  colour  of 
the  aerial  vault,  and  in  the  shape  of  the  visible  heavens-^ 


The  High  Pries  I  of  China. 


59 


which  the  architecture  of  the  earthly  temple  is  intended 
to  represent,  as  the  Heaven  above  is  here  worshipped  on 
the  earth  beneath,  the  earthly  being  a  symbol  of  the 
heavenly — is,  in  its  silent  majesty,  the  sacred  rotunda  of 
the  East. 

The  Altar  of  Heaven — The  Altar  of  Heaven  is  in 


(;llllMII|i||ll!lllIlirilll1llllllllllllllllilliilli'liiil'liWilil411.in^^^ 
Altar  of  Heaven. 


the  southern  part  of  the  park,  enclosed  by  a  square  wall 
without  and  a  circular  wall  within,  each  with  marble 
gateways,  and  in  its  rear  is  the  temple  of  Imperial 
Expanse,  in  which  are  kept  the  tablets  of  Heaven  and  of 
deceased  emperors.  When  we  speak  of  an  altar  let  not 
the  reader   imagine  a  Jewish  or  Grecian  altar,  for  this 


6o  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

is  a  polygonal  pyramid  of  white  marble,  twenty-seven 
feet  in  height,  consisting  of  three  terraces,  two  hundred 
and  ten,  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  ninety  feet  in 
diameter,  with  richly-carved  white  marble  balustrades, 
and  four  flights  of  twenty-seven  steps  each,  coincident 
with  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  The  top  is  paved 
with  marble  stones  placed  in  concentric  circles,  the  inner 
circle  of  nine  stones  enclosing  a  round  central  stone,  on 
which  the  Emperor  stands  ;  around  this  runs  each  succeed- 
ing layer,  consisting  of  a  successive  multiple  of  nine, 
until  the  square  of  nine  is  reached  in  the  outermost  row. 

There  are  five  marble  stands  for  the  incense  urns, 
the  candlesticks,  and  the  vases  for  flowers.  A  table  is 
placed  at  the  side  for  the  reader  of  the  prayers  ;  a  master 
of  ceremonies  directs  the  whole,  and  at  his  call  the 
Emperor  kneels  and  offers  incense.  Tents  are  erected 
and  lofty  poles,  from  which  hang  lanterns. 

Near  the  altar  is  a  furnace  built  of  green  tiles,  nine 
feet  high  and  seven  feet  wide;  ascended  by  flights  of 
steps  on  the  outside,  so  that  a  whole  victim  may  be 
taken  to  the  top  and  let  down  upon  the  bars  of  iron  and 
the  wood  within. 

The  Procession. — As  the  winter  solstice  approaches, 
within  the  Forbidden  City  preparations  are  being  made 
for  the  great  day.  The  mortal  eyes  of  men  cannot 
behold  the  Son  of  Heaven  who  sits  on  the  dragon 
throne  of  ivory;  but  on  the  evening  preceding  the 
sacrifice  he  leaves  his  palace,  going  part  of  the  way  in 
his  chariot  drawn  by  an  elephant  taken  from  the 
Imperial  stables,  and  part  of  the  way  in  his  sedan, 
borne   on   the   shoulders   of  thirty-two   coolies.      He   is 


The  High- Priest  of  China.  6i 

preceded  by  the  Xational  Guard  of  bannermen,  and  by 
a  company  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  musicians. 
Then  on  horseback,  the  princes  of  blood  in  vestments 
of  royalty,  the  nobles  with  insignia  betokening  their 
rank,  the  statesmen  in  court  dress,  the  mandarins  in 
embroidered  robes,  the  high  officials,  both  civic  and 
military,  to  the  number  of  2,000,  quit  the  forbidden  city, 
and  pass  along  the  silent  street,  its  shops  all  closed, 
to  the  solemn  sacrifice  ;  the  Imperial  palaces  pouring 
forth  their  princely  legions  on  this  grand  occasion. 

After  the  inspection  of  the  grounds  and  halls,  the 
Emperor  repairs  to  the  Palace  of  Fasting,  where  he  pre- 
pares himself  by  quiet  thought  and  lonely  meditation 
for  his  high  service ;  ''  for  the  idea  is,  if  there  be  not 
pious  thoughts  in  his  mind,  the  spirits  will  not  come  to 
the  sacrifice."  The  preparations  go  on.  The  tablets  of 
Heaven  and  the  deceased  emperors,  which  are  pieces 
of  board  eight  inches  wide  and  two-and-a-half  feet 
high,  beautifully  carved,  are  placed  on  the  altar;  the 
tablets  of  the  sun,  the  five  planets,  and  twenty-eight 
constellations  are  put  on  the  second  terrace  ;  the  round 
blue  jade-stone,  the  symbol  of  Heaven,  is  carried  to 
the  altar  on  an  elegantly-carved  and  gilded  chair ; 
and,  as  the  Chinese  idea  of  worship  is  in  part  that  of  a 
feast,  twenty-seven  dishes  with  meats,  fruits,  and  flowers 
are  placed  before  the  tablets — the  offerings  are  made  to 
Heaven,  the  spirits  of  the  emperors  being  present  as 
guests. 

The  Sacrifice. — An  officer  summons  the  Emperor,  who 
repairs  to  the  robing-tent  and  dons  his  sacerdotal  dress, 
and  no  priestly  vestments  that  Aaron  ever  wore  exceeded  in 


62  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

richness  of  gold  and  beauty  of  design  those  which  are 
embroidered  for  the  occasion  in  our  city  of  Soochow.  As 
he  ascends  the  aUar  the  regal  choir  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  musicians — with  voice,  and  stringed  instru- 
ment, and  soft-sounding  cymbal — make  the  stillness  of 
the  night  air  resound  with  the  song  of  "  universal  peace," 
while  on  the  other  side  an  equal  number  of  posture-makers 
join  in  the  ceremonies.  The  Emperor  makes  prostrations 
before  the  tablets,  presents  the  viands,  and  lights  the 
incense,  when  the  songs  of  "harmonious  peace"  and 
''excellent  peace"  are  sung  by  the  choir.  His  Majesty 
then  listens  to  an  officer  read  the  prayer  to  "  Imperial 
Heaven,  Supreme  Euler,"  and  a  single  voice  amidst  the 
silence  is  heard,  "  Grive  the  cup  of  blessing  and  the  meat 
of  happiness  ;  "  the  Emperor  tastes  thereof,  and  bows  upon 
the  altar  before  Heaven  in  token  of  his  thankful  reception, 
and  then  listens  to  the  song  of  ''  glorious  peace." 

A  shrill  voice  is  heard,  "  Look  at  the  burning,"  when 
the  bullock,  entire  and  without  blemish,  "  no  garlands 
having  been  put  on  the  victim  when  its  life  was  taken 
and  no  blood  sprinkled,"  is  placed  in  the  furnace,  and  the 
smoke  ascends. 

Ecce  Homo  !  The  only  man  of  the  400,000,000  who 
can  perform  this  rite  of  the  established  religion.  The 
Pontifex  Maximus  of  this  mighty  empire,  in  behalf  of 
his  people,  offers  sacrifice  ;  the  patriarch  of  the  nation, 
at  once  their  chief  magistrate  and  high-priest.  "  The 
Emperor  for  himself,  and  his  line,  standing  forth  in  his 
own  dignity  and  glory,  and  that  of  his  ancestors,  and 
representing  the  millions  of  his  subjects,  presides  at  the 
highest   services   as  a  minister   of  religion,    giving   ex- 


The  High-Priest  of  China.  6 


pression  to  the  loftiest  ideas  of  worship  that  have  been 
the  inheritance  of  his  nation  for  several  millenniums,  and, 
as  the  parent  and  representative  of  his  people,  offers  up 
prayers  and  a  whole  burnt-offering  that  the  smoke  may 
ascend  to  Heaven  in  a  cloud  of  incense." 

"  The  scene  is  one  of  imposing  grandeur."  The  high- 
priest  stands  in  solemn  majesty  while  the  legion  of 
statesmen,  nobles,  and  mandarins  are  prostrate  on  the 
second  and  third  terraces  in  profound  reverence  and 
adoration.  The  worship  is  after  midnight,  and  "  as  the 
pale  light  is  shed  abroad  upon  this  princely  assemblage, 
so  richly  dressed,  from  the  high  suspended  lanterns,  and 
the  lurid  flame  from  the  sacrificial  furnace  ascends 
and  casts  its  glare,  over  the  marble  terraces,  and  W\q 
fragrance  of  incense  and  the  peals  of  music  fill  the  air 
under  the  open  vault  of  Heaven  in  the  early  morning, 
the  scene  presents  all  the  elements  of  imposing  solem- 
nity," and  is  a  splendid  and  wonderful  pageant.  "  Tliis 
mountain  top  still  stands  above  the  waves  of  corruption, 
and  on  this  primeval  altar  there  still  rests  a  faint  ray 
of  the  primeval  faith." 

The  worship  of  Nature  in  Nineveh,  Babylon,  and  Egypt 
presents  many  striking  points  of  comparison,  but  the  fact 
is,  that  the  religious  systems  of  these  l.ave  passed  away, 
while  the  concentric  circles  of  the  great  oak  of  the 
Established  Church  of  China  have  widened  till  the  diameter 
of  the  oak  equals  that  of  the  marble  altar;  the  roots 
going  down  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  ground,  coiling 
the  clods  of  earth  in  its  earth-worship,  just  as  the  branches 
of  the  tree  extending  upwards  point  to  every  part  of  the 
physical  heavens  in  its  worship  of  Heaven. 


64  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

"  The  high-priests  of  China  love  power  and  adulation 
too  much  to  share  this  worship  with  their  subjects,"  so 
the  State  has  appropriated  this  service,  and  the  people 
are  not  permitted  to  worship  "  Imperial  Heaven,  Supreme 
Ruler,"  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  thej  are  in  blissful 
ignorance  of  the  whole  affair. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE   ADORATION   OF  NATURE. 

XT  is  not  held  that  most  of  the  worship  described  in 
-^  this  chapter  is  a  worship  of  nature  pure  and  simpk^, 
for  it  is  impossible  for  any  polytheistic  system  to  retain 
its  purity,  yet  no  doubt  originally  it  was  simply  an 
adoration  of  natural  objects,  first  personified  and  then 
worshipped,  and  afterwards  deified  beings  were  enthroned 
upon  them,  and  substituted  in  their  places. 

Its  Antiquity. — The  book  of  history  informs  us  that 
the  Emperor  Shun,  4,100  years  ago,  "  sacrificed  specially, 
but  with  the  ordinary  forms,  to  Shangte;  sacrificed  purely 
to  the  six  objects  of  honour;  offered  their  appropriate 
sacrifices  to  the  hills  and  rivers,  and  extended  his  worship 
to  the  host  of  spirits."  A  writer  remarks  :  "  When  he 
sacrificed  to  the  hills  and  rivers,  he  did  so  to  the  spirits 
supposed  to  preside  over  the  hills  and  rivers  of  note  in 
all  the  kingdom,  and  thereby  exercised  his  royal  pre- 
rogative, for  in  subsequent  ages  each  feudal  lord  sacrificed 
to  the  hills  and  rivers  in  his  State,  while  the  worship 
of  the  sovereign  embraced  all  such  objects  '  under  the 
sky.'  " 

Ming  Dynasty. — During  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the 
solstitial  prayer  to  Shangte,  the  Emperor  says,  ''  I,  the 
Emperor  of  the  great  illustrious  dynasty,  have  respectfully 


66  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

prepared  this  j)aper  to  inform  the  spirit  of  the  sun,  the 
spirit  of  the  moon,  the  spirits  of  the  five  planets,  of  the 
constellations  of  the  zodiac,  and  of  all  the  stars  in  all  the 
sky,  the  spirits  of  the  clouds,  the  rain,  wind,  and  thunder, 
the  spirits  which  have  duties  assigned  to  them  throughout 
the  whole  heavens,  the  spirits  of  the  five  grand  moun- 
tains, the  spirits  of  the  five  guardian  hills,  the  spirits 
of  the  four  seas,  the  spirits  of  the  four  great  rivers,  the 
intelligences  which  have  duties  assigned  to  them  on  the 
earth,  all  the  celestial  spirits  under  heaven,  the  terres- 
trial spirits  under  heaven,  the  spirit  presiding  over  the 
present  year,  the  spirit  ruling  over  the  tenth  month, 
and  those  over  every  day ;  and  the  spirit  in  charge  of 
the  ground  about  the  border  altar," — thus  summoning 
the  pantheon  of  nature. 

Pantheism  — It  is  said  that  "  Pantheism  finds  a  god 
in  everything/"'  It  is  "  the  spirit,  soul,  or  animating 
principle  of  the  universe,"  and  is  "  essentially  the  doctrine 
of  an  all-pervading  impersonal  essence,  breath,  or  spirit, 
which  is  called  god."  "  The  educated  classes  in  China  are 
])antheists,  and  have  been  for  two  thousand  years.  Their 
writings  are  full  of  it,  and  it  has,  as  it  were,  saturated  the 
language  and  literature  of  the  whole  country."  A  Chinese 
commentator  says  :  "  The  evolution  and  transformation  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  maturity  and  decay  of  the  vital 
powers  of  living  men,  the  blooming  and  withering  of 
plants  and  trees,  with  the  life  and  death  of  all  classes 
of  things,  is  nothing  but  the  action  of  the  divine  spirit." 
No  wonder  that  thinking  minds,  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  Creator,  should  deify  nature,  and  worship  the  soul  of 
nature,  instead  of  looking  from  nature  to  nature's  God. 


The  Adoration  of  Nattu  e.  67 


Heaven  and  Earth.— The  ethical  literature  of  this 
land  is  vast,  books  abound  "  exhorting  men  to  be  virtuous.'' 
The  opening  sentence  of  each  volume  is  a  solemn  charge 
"  to  worship  heaven  and  earth."  At  the  Old  Year's  feast, 
during  the  New  Year's  holidays,  and  on  the  wedding  day, 
heaven  and  earth  are  worshipped.  During  the  1st  ]Moon, 
the  9th  day  is  heaven's  birthday,  and  the  10th  day  is  earth's 
birthday,  when  incense  is  burned  towards  heaven  in  the 


Worship  of  Heaven  and  Earth  at  New  Year. 

open  courts  of  the  houses.  The  two  great  thoughts 
engraved  on  the  Chinese  mind  are  the  duties  of  honouring 
the  father  and  mother  who  care  for  us  in  childhood,  and 
of  worshipping  heaven  and  earth,  the  great  father  and 
mother  of  the  universe  ;  and  so  ineradicable  are  these  first 
truths,  that  when  a  man  listens  to  a  preacher  whom  he 
accredits  as  a  teacher  of  morality,  though  the  assertion 
is  repeatedly  made  that  we  must  not  worship  heaven 
and  earth,  yet  the  hearer  walks  out  of  the  chapel  saying, 


68  The  Dragon,  Imao;e,  and  Demon. 


"  Oh  yes  !  worship  heaven  and  earth  ;  "  "  Heaven  and 
earth  are  of  most  importance."  The  only  possible  way 
is  by  some  startling  illustration,  as  by  a  shock  from  an 
electric  battery,  to  show  the  terrible  sin  of  adoring 
heaven  and  earth,  for  around  this  pivot  the  whole  of 
their  religious  thought  revolves. 

Earth. — The  Emperor  at  Peking  worships  "  mother 
earth  "  upon  the  altar  of  earth,  which  consists  of  two 
terraces  of  sixty  and  one  hundred  feet  square  each ;  the 
tiles  of  the  wall  are  yellow,  as  is  also  the  symbol  of  earth, 
the  square  yellow  gem ;  and  at  this  time  also  sacrifices 
are  offered  to  the  seas,  the  mountains,  and  the  rivers. 
At  the  altar  of  heaven,  the  written  prayer  and  the  rolls 
of  silk  used  as  an  offering  are  burned ;  at  the  altar  of 
earth  they  are  buried. 

In  South  China  the  earth-worship  has  been  noticed 
.  as  performed  by  the  peasantry  ;  a  clod  of  earth  is  set  up 
in  the  field,  and  incense  is  lit  in  front  of  it,  by  way  of 
giving  thanks  for  an  abundant  harvest. 

The  Sun. — Tecumseh,  the  Indian  chief,  said  to  General 
Harrison,  "  Yonder  sun  is  my  father  and  the  earth  is  my 
mother,"  so  Confucianism  ''  presents  nature  veiled  in  a 
more  transparent  personification."  The  worship  of  the 
sun  is  a  part  of  the  State  religion,  and  the  mandarins 
make  their  offerings  to  the  sun  tablet.  "  Turn  thee  yet 
again,  and  thou  shalt  see  greater  abominations  than  these. 
.  .  .  There  were  five-and-twenty  men,  with  their  faces 
toward  the  east;  and  they  worshipped  the  sun  towards 
the  east."     Thus  Ezekiel's  vision  is  seen  in  China. 

Moon-god. — The  queen  of  night,  her  light  so  soft  and 
silvery,  attracts  the  pagan  worshipper,  and  at   the  full 


T/ie  Ado7'ation  of  Nature. 


69 


harvest  moon  in  the  8th  month  a  nation  bows  before  the 
heavenly  luminary,  and  each  family  lights  incense  made 
into  a  vase  with  gift  flowers  as  an  offering.  The  picture 
represents  the  moon-palace;  the  hare  pestling  medicine 
in  a  mortar,  ]Mrs.  Changngo,  who  stole  the  drug  of  immor- 
tality and  fled  to  the  moon,  and  the  fragrant  tree  which 
one  of  the   genii  tries  to  cut  down.     The  legend  affirms 


Palace  of  the  Moon. 

that  Mrs.  Changngo  "  became  changed  into  a  frog,  whose 
outline  is  traced  by  the  Chinese  on  the  moon's  surface." 
The  following  written  prayer  is  seldom  used :  "  Thy 
nature  is  effulgent,  transparent  without  spot ;  thou,  the 
icy-wheel  in  the  milky  way  along  the  heavenly  street, 
a  mirror  always  bright  ;  100,000  classes  all  receive  thy 
blessings." 


JO  The  Drag07t,  Image,  and  Demon, 

Eclipse. — The  Chinese  do  not  differ  from  other  heathen 
nations  in  the  terror  they  manifest  at  an  ecHpse,  when 
the  "  wild  sun  eats  the  real  sun,"  and  in  the  means  they 
use  to  appease  the  heavenly  deities.  In  Africa  they  say, 
"  The  eclipse  monster  has  eaten  the  sun."  The  South 
American  Indians  "  thought  the  moon  was  hunted  across 


Save  the  Sun  ! 

the  sky  by  huge  dogs."  The  Caribs  "would  dance  and 
howl  all  night  long  to  scare  the  demon  away."  The 
Peruvians  "raised  a  frightful  din  when  the  moon  was 
eclipsed,  shouting,  sounding  the  musical  instruments,  and 
beating  the  dogs  to  join  their  howls  in  the  hideous 
chorus."  The  noble  Komans  "  flung  firebrands  in  the  air, 
blew  trumpets,  and  clanged  brazen  pots  and  pans." 


The  Adoration  of  Nature.  71 


In  China,  during  an  eclipse,  in  every  direction  fire- 
crackers explode,  men  knock  the  covers  of  brazen  foot- 
stoves,  and  boys  bang  tin  pans,  so  that  the  clangour  and 
din  fills  the  city.  The  picture  represents  the  mandarin 
in  the  act  of  worship,  which  is  a  part  of  the  prescribed 
rites.  As  he  bows  before  the  dark  tablet  placed  on  high 
on  the  table,  the  Buddhist  priests  clang  their  cymbals, 
and  the  soldiers  fire  volleys  of  musketry  and  fire-crackers. 
The  priests  chant,  "  The  sun-palace  hidden,  the  sun's 
virtue  broken  to  pieces,  we  pray  that  the  shadows  of  the 
darkness  may  scatter,  the  brightness  of  the  sun  return, 
and  the  myriad  of  things  be  enlightened,"  or  "  Palace  of 
the  moon,  virtue  of  water,  controlling  all  of  the  darkness  ; 
suddenly  meeting  with  calamity  and  darkness,  as  if  afflic- 
tion were  near,  we  pray  thy  grace  may  descend  and  thy 
light  may  return." 

Gods  of  the  Four  Seas.— The  Ruler  of  the  East  Sea 
is  Wuming ;  of  the  West  Sea,  Chohliang ;  of  the  South 
Sea,  Kyiishin ;  of  the  North  Sea,  Yuchiang  ;  these  four 
manage  the  affairs  of  the  mighty  deep. 

The  water-god. — The  water-god  has  a  tiger's  body, 
a  man's  face  of  green  and  yellow  colour,  eight  hands, 
eight  feet,  and  eight  tails. 

One  of  the  emperors  saw  another  of  the  water-gods 
near  Tsingki'angpu,  where  the  Grand  Canal  crosses  the 
old  bed  of  the  Yellow  River.  In  the  time  of  a  flood  he 
came  floating  down  like  a  log  of  wood  ;  he  was  ten  feet 
long,  and  with  a  sounding  voice  ;  in  colour  he  was  black, 
with  the  appearance  of  a  monkey ;  in  strength  equal  to 
nine  elephants  :  all  who  gazed  at  him  became  blind.  The 
Emperor  called  to  his  aid  one  of  the  ting  gods,  who  caught 


72  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

him,  and  confined  him  in  a  cave  at  the  source  of  the  river, 
with  a  great  stone  resting  upon  him,  so  that  the  waters 
could  not  again  come  with  a  great  flood. 

The  river-gods. — One  of  them,  named  Pingee,  ate 
eight  stones,  and  this  hght  diet  made  him  so  light  in 
weight,  that  he  could  walk  on  the  water.  His  character 
and  associates  were  so  bad  that  he  had  to  flee  beyond  the 
Yellow  Sea.     Shangte  made  him  the  river-god. 

Another  is  a  young  lady  named  Kissiang,  who  stole  the 
Imperial  pearl,  and  was  transformed  into  a  river-god. 
Another  was  Kuihping,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Mihlo 
Eiver, 

Gods  of  the  Mountains. — There  are  a  million  gods 
of  the  mountains ;  for  every  mountain,  hill,  peak,  knoll, 
and  headland  has  its  presiding  divinity;  the  greatest 
among  these  being  the  north,  south,  east,  west,  and 
central  peaks.  The  first  mountain-god  was  seen  in  the 
days  of  the  Emperor  Yao,  when  the  prime  minister 
Pihling  separated  the  peaks  of  the  Szechuen  province, 
and  met  the  god  of  the  mountains. 

Gods  of  Time. — The  god  of  the  year  is  Leeping ;  of 
the  month,  Hwang  Chenyih ;  of  the  day,  Chenten;  of 
the  hour,  Lienhung. 

Gods  of  the  Four  Seasons. — The  god  of  spring  is 
the  Green  Ruler  ;  of  summer,  the  Fire  Ruler  ;  of  autumn, 
the  White  Ruler  ;  and  of  winter,  the  Black  Ruler. 

Gods  of  the  Five  Elements — The  name  of  the 
water-god  is  Pingee  ;  of  fire,  Chohyung ;  of  wood,  Yuen- 
ming  ;  of  the  earth,  Yinsen  ;  of  gold,  Keufang. 

Wind,  Thunder,  Rain,  and  Lightning. — The  man- 
darins   worship    tablets    in    hone  ur    of  these,    and    light 


The  Adoration  of  Nature.  73 


candles  and  incense  on  the  1st  and  15th  of  the  Moon. 
They  are  not  considered  to  worship  the  common  gods 
who  rule  over  these  departments  ;  these  del  Tninores  are 
for  the  vulgar  populace. 

Earl  Wind. — He  gives  the  gentle  zephyr,  and  sends 
the  angry  tempest. 

Rain-master. — "  A  divinity  identified  by  the  ancient 
cosmogonists  with  a  son  of  Kungkung,  bearing  the  name 
of  '  sombre  dark,'  and  sacrifices  by  burnt  ofiferings  were 


Thunder-god. 

Ottered  to  him  in  accordance  with  the  ritual  of  the  Chow 
dynasty."  He  holds  a  bowl  of  water,  and  if  he  lets  fall 
only  a  drop,  there  is  a  rainfall  of  one  foot.  The  Master 
of  Eain  rides  a  white  horse  over  the  western  sea,  followed 
by  twelve  boys,  and  wherever  he  goes  there  is  rain. 

Thunder  and  Lightning. — The  gods  in  this  depart- 
ment are  so  numerous  as  to  constitute  a  distinct  Board, 
called  "  The  Board  of  Thunder."  The  majesty  and  wrath 
of  the  gods  are  summed  up  in  these  tokens  of  Heaven's 


74  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


displeasure,  and  the  thunder's  roar  and  lightning's  flash 
are  witnesses  to  the  people  that  there  are  gods  above  the 
sky.     "  Jupiter  tonans." 

The  principal  god  of  thunder  is  Went'aisze,  a  minister 
of  the  Emperor  Show,  who  was  killed  by  General  Kiang. 
We  sometimes  ask  the  people,  Who  was  it  that  governed 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thunder. 


thunder  before  his  day  ?  This  has  never  seemed  to  occur 
to  them.  His  birthday  is  on  the  24th  of  the  6th  Moon, 
at  which  time  all  the  country  people  flock  to  his  temple. 
They  observe  a  fast  in  his  honour  from  the  1st  to  the 
24th  of  the  6th  Moon.  He  has  three  eyes, — one  in  his 
forehead, — and  rides  upon  a  tiger. 

Another  pair  of  gods  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thunder,  who 


The  Adoratiuii  of  Nature.  75 

control  the  artillery  of  Heaven,  and  flash  the  vivid 
lightning. 

Madam  Lightning  is  also  a  dread  deity,  who  holds  the 
lightning  in  her  hand.  She  has  10,000  golden  snakes, 
who  flash  electricity  throughout  the  universe.  The  purple 
lightning  kills,  the  red  lightning  lessens  heat,  and  the 
white  lightning  diminishes  wind  and  rain.  Her  chief 
assistant  is  called  Teihlin,  and  her  charioteer  Ah- 
hyiang. 

The  snow-god. — His  name  is  Tunluh.  A  prince 
fond  of  hunting  goes  to  the  forest  for  game.  A  giant 
asks  the  beasts,  "  Would  you  prefer  to  die  by  the  knife  or 
by  an  arrow  ?  "  An  aged  deer  begs  the  giant  to  save  him 
from  the  prince,  and  he  is  directed  to  pray  to  Tunluh 
for  snow,  so  that  hunters  cannot  ''  go  out  for  game." 

The  frost-goddess. — The  spring  is  thought  to  rule 
birth  and  the  autumn  death.  On  the  3rd  of  the  9th 
Moon  the  Green  Maiden  sends  frost.  She  is  worshipped 
by  military  mandarins. 

God  of  Caverns. — Every  cave,  whether  on  the  moun- 
tain side  or  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  has  its  presiding 
divinity. 

Tree-god. — The  god  of  trees  is  only  worshipped 
when  an  oak  of  the  forest  is  to  be  felled  with  the  wood- 
man's axe.  Notice  is  duly  served  throughout  the  neigh- 
bourhood, announcing  at  what  time  the  tree  is  to  be  cut 
down,  so  that  those  who  live  near  may  remain  indoors, 
as  the  tree-god  is  to  be  robbed  of  his  roost,  and  may 
avenge  himself  upon  the  neighbours.  Every  tree  has  its 
separate  individual  deity.     Oh,  polytheism  of  the  forest ! 

God  of  the  Willow. — Twigs  of  the  weeping  willow 


76  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


are  favourite  emblems  in  the  hands  of  gods  and  goddesses. 
A  Mr.  Lee,  walking  through  a  willow-grove,  was  accosted 
by  the  willow-god,  who  told  him  to  dye  his  clothing  blue, 
as  he  would  soon  be  the  highest  scholar  in  the  empire. 
The  prophecy  was  fulfilled  by  his  appointment  as  Senior 
Wrangler  at  the  Hanlin  College,  Peking. 

Gods  and  goddesses  of  Flowers. — They  are  wor- 
shipped by  florists  on  the  12th  of  the  2nd  Moon,  with 
music,  refreshments,  and  floral  decorations.  There  are 
twelve  of  these  gods  and  goddesses,  one  for  each  month, 
whose  biographies,  though  full  of  romance,  are  scarcely 
worth  special  notice. 

The  wheat-goddess. — A  merchant  of  North  China 
in  1873  met  a  fair  maiden  with  twin  stalks  of  wheat 
growing  from  one  grain,  which  he  told  her  was  an  aus- 
picious omen.  She  replied  that  she  was  going  to  the 
city  of  Tungchow  to  order  the  harvest.  The  merchant, 
reporting  the  fact  to  the  prefect,  the  latter  had  an  image 
of  the  wheat-goddess  made  like  this  maiden  with  the 
twin  stalks  in  her  hand,  and  at  the  wheat  harvest  there 
are  annual  theatricals  in  her  honour. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ANCESTRAL  IDOLATRY. 

T"N  a  preceding  chapter  the  attention  of  the  reader  was 
-■-  called  to  the  magnificent  marble  altar  and  to  the 
splendour  of  the  Imperial  worship.  There  the  national 
all  ar  was  one  and  the  worshipper  a  single  individual ;  here, 
the  ancestral  altars  are  70,000,000,  and  the  worshippers 
350,000,000.  This  is  the  religion  of  China  in  the  sense 
that  it  is  universal ;  "  the  real  religion  of  the  Chinese, 
that  in  which  more  than  anything  else  they  trust,  and  to 
which  they  look  for  consolation  and  reward."  The 
Emperor  worships  his  ancestor,  and  the  peasant  his.  In 
the  worship  of  Heaven  the  Emperor  alone  is  the  mediator ; 
in  the  worship  of  Confucius  the  scholars  take  a  part ;  the 
worship  of  idols  is  largely  confined  to  the  middle  classes, 
esj^ecially  the  old  women ;  but  in  ancestral  worship  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor,  alike  do  honour  to  parents  once 
human,  but  now  divine. 

Filial  Piety. — Ancestral  worship  is  the  extension  of 
filial  piety  beyond  the  grave,  and  the  amplification  of 
the  central  tenet  of  their  system  of  ethics,  which  the 
sages  teach,  the  books  record,  the  scholars  enjoin,  and 
the  people  follow.  "  The  chief  end  of  man,"  as  well  as 
"  the  whole  duty  of  man,"  is  in  obeying  and  serving 
father  and   mother.     As   their  interpretation  inculcates 


78  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

respect  for  all  superiors,  inspiration  has  nothing  to  add 
to  their  doctrine  save  the  promise ;  and  though  the  books 
do  not  record  that  promise  yet  China  has  its  fulfilment, 
for  this  great  empire  of  four  times  the  age  of  Methuselah 
testifies  to  the  faithfulness  of  Jehovah.  Over  the  moun- 
tains of  their  idolatry  and  the  hills  of  their  superstition 
has  the  Most  High  passed,  and  remembered  their  rever- 
ence to  parents.  *'  The  fact  is,  that  filial  piety  in  this 
system  has  exceeded  the  limit  set  by  Grod  in  His  word." 

An  Ancient  Cultus. — We  revere  the  hoary  head,  so 
standing  in  the  presence  of  this  ancient  cult,  which  the 
people  believe  in  their  hearts  and  practise  in  their  lives, 
we  must  respect  even  if  we  reject  it.  In  the  book  of 
history  there  are  clear  intimations  that  the  worship  of 
ancestors  was  observed  during  the  reign  of  Shun,  B.C. 
2250.  His  coronation  took  place  in  the  temple  of  the 
"  Accomplished  Ancestor,"  and  his  successor,  Yu,  in  the 
same  holy  place  received  the  reins  of  government.  The 
minister  of  religion  was  designated  the  "  Arranger  of  the 
Ancestral  Temple."  It  is  said  of  Shun,  when  he  returned 
from  his  tours  of  inspection,  that  "  he  went  to  the  temple 
of  the  Cultivated  Ancestor,  and  offered  a  single  bullock." 

In  an  ode  which  was  written  about  the  time  of 
Samuel,  the  ancestors  respond — 

"What  shall  the  ceaseless  blessings  be  ? 
That  in  your  palace  high, 
For  myriad  years  you  dwell  in  peace, 
Rich  in  posterity." 

Confucius. — The  sage,  finding  this  ancient  worship  in 
existence,  gave  it  his  most  emphatic  sanction,  and  with 
him  "the  worship  of  parents  was  part  of  the  duty  of  filial 


Ancestral  Idolatry.  79 

piety."  He  says  :  ''  The  services  of  love  and  reverence  to 
them  when  alive,  and  those  of  grief  and  sorrow  for  them 
when  dead, — these  completely  discharge  the  fundamental 
duty  of  living  men."  One  of  the  five  characteristics  of 
the  model  son  is,  "  in  sacrificing  to  them  he  displays  the 
utmost  solemnity."  His  millions  of  followers  emulate  his 
example  ;  "  he  sacrificed  to  the  dead  as  if  they  were  present ; 
he  sacrificed  to  the  spirits  as  if  they  were  present."  He 
said,  "  I  consider  my  not  being  at  the  sacrifice  as  if  I  did 
not  sacrifice."  When  asked,  "  Do  the  dead  have  knowledge 
of  our  services,  or  are  they  without  knowledge  ? "  the 
reply  was,  "  If  I  were  to  say  that  the  dead  have  such  know- 
ledge, I  am  afraid  that  filial  sons  and  dutiful  grandsons 
would  injure  their  substance  in  paying  the  last  offices  to 
the  departed  ;  if  I  were  to  say  that  the  dead  have  not  such 
knowledge,  I  am  afraid  lest  unfilial  sons  should  leave  their 
parents  unburied.  You  need  not  wish  to  know  whether  the 
dead  have  knowledge  or  not.  There  is  no  present  urgency 
about  the  point.  Hereafter  you  will  know  it  for  yourself." 
Thus  he  considered  the  services  as  of  very  doubtful  benefit 
to  departed  ancestors,  yet  enjoined  their  devout  observance. 
A  Son. — "Have  you  a  son?"  "How  many  sons  have 
you  ?  "  are  questions  often  asked.  Ancestral  worship  has 
been  a  blessing  to  China  in  so  far  as  it  has  exalted 
marriage,  not  so  much  elevating  the  relation  of  husliand 
and  wife,  as  making  it  a  means  to  the  great  end  of  securing 
an  heir.  The  Chinese  well  understand  the  Jewish  law  of 
"  raising  up  seed  to  his  brother,"  only  instead  of  preserving 
the  inheritance,  it  is  perpetuating  the  worship.  To 
continue  the  family  line  a  nephew  or  the  son  of  a  friend  is 
adopted,  and  sonaetimes  concubinage  is  resorted  to.     The 


8o  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

Classics   say,    "The   most   unfilial    is    he    who    has    no 
son." 

"  The  offerings  to  the  dead,  to  be  successful  and  accept- 
able, must  be  presented  by  a  relative  of  the  male  line. 
It  is,  by  inheritance,  the  right,  duty,  and  privilege  of  the 
oldest  son  or  his  heir  to  perform  this  sacred  rite.  If  he 
is  cut  off  by  death,  it  is  the  duty  of  his  brothers  to 
appoint  one  of  their  sons  to  succeed  him  in  his  estate 
and  filial  duties.  This  individual — though  an  infant  in 
the  arms  of  the  nurse — is  master  of  ceremonies  in 
ancestral  worship.  As  the  virtue  of  the  offerings 
depends  upon  the  regular  line  of  descent,  the  priceless 
value  of  a  son  may  be  imagined,  and  the  great  preference 
of  sons  over  daughters." 

Fear,  the  Chief  Motive.— The  basis  of  this  cultus  is 
filial  piety,  but  the  prompting  motive  is  fear.  The 
Chinese  know  not  of  Heaven,  where  departed  spirits 
hunger  no  more,  neither  do  they  know  of  the  Lamb  who 
leads  to  the  fountain  of  living  waters.  The  dead  are 
dependent  upon  the  living  for  food,  clothing,  and  money  ; 
the  first  is  presented  upon  the  table,  the  second  is  paper- 
clothing  burnt,  and  the  third  is  tinfoil  sent  upwards  in 
smoke.  If  the  spirits  have  these  they  are  contented  and 
happy,  but  if  they  are  hungry,  naked,  and  penniless,  they 
come  back  and  punish  those  who  neglect  them,  just  as 
a  parent  chastises  an  undutiful  child.  Sickness  and 
calamity  deceased  ancestors  may  bring,  so  they  must  be 
appeased,  because  those  "  who  are  neglected  by  their 
living  relatives  become  beggar  spirits  in  the  world  of 
darkness,  and  are  forced,  in  order  to  secure  even  a 
wretched    existence,    to    herd   with   the    spirits   of    the 


Ancestral  Idolatry. 


multitudes  who  have  died  in  war,  at  sea,  of  starvation,  or 
in  foreign  countries." 

Three  Souls. — Truly  the  Chinaman  is  a  compound 
being ;  he  is  not  satisfied  with  soul  and  body,  but  must 
needs  possess  three  souls  and  six  spirits.  Where  this 
doctrine  of  trichotomy  came  from  we  cannot  tell,  but  it 
is  the  universal  faith  of  the  people  from  the  statesman 
to  the  farmer.  This  tripartite  division  of  the  soul  is,  at 
the  outset,  a  formidable  obstacle  to  the  preacher,  and 
it  takes  more  than  logic  and  rhetoric  to  convince  our 
Mongolian  brother  that  his  soul  is  a  unit.  The  "  six 
spirits,"  or  the  animal  spirits,  go  down  into  the  earth  at 
death  :  of  the  "  three  souls  "  one  goes  into  Hades,  and 
with  it  the  priests  deal ;  the  second  enters  the  coffin,  and 
is  laid  in  the  grave,  but  is  not  satisfied  with  its  dismal 
abode  ;  the  third  tarries  round  about  the  old  homestead  : 
ancestral  worship  deals  with  soul  number  two  and  soul 
number  three. 

The  Ancestral  Hall.— These  buildings  are  not  so 
conspicuous  as  the  idol  temples,  but  they  are  very 
numerous,  as  any  family  or  clan  may  have  its  temple, 
generally  marked  by  the  funereal  cedar.  Here  the  "  spirit 
tablets "  of  departed  forefathers  are  kept,  "  containing 
the  simple  legend  of  the  two  ancestral  names  carved  on 
a  board,"  and  "  to  the  child  the  family  tablet  is  a  reality, 
the  abode  of  a  personal  being  who  exerts  an  influence  over 
him  that  cannot  be  evaded,  and  is  far  more  to  him  as  an 
individual  than  any  of  the  popular  gods.  The  gods  are 
to  be  feared  and  their  wrath  deprecated,  but  ancestors 
represent  love,  care,  and  kindly  interest."  If  the  clan  do 
not  own  an  ancestral  hall,  there  is  "  in  every  household 

6 


82  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

a  shrine,  a  tablet,  an  oratory,  or  a  domestic  temple, 
according  to  the  position  of  the  family."  It  is  a  grand 
and  solemn  occasion  when  all  the  males  of  a  tribe  in  their 
dress  robes  gather  at  the  temple,  perhaps  a  great 
^'  country  seat,"  of  the  dead,  and  the  patriarch  of  the 
line,  as  chief  priest  of  the  family,  offers  sacrifice. 

Much  property  is  entailed  upon  these  ancestral  halls 
to  keep  up  the  worship,  but  as  this  expense  is  not  great, 
all  the  family  have  shares  in  the  joint  capital,  and  the 
head  of  the  clan  sometimes  comes  in  for  a  good  living. 
At  baptism  converts  to  the  Christian  faith  renounce  their 
claim  to  a  share  in  this  family  estate,  because  of  its 
idolatrous  connections. 

In  these  halls  the  genealogical  tables  are  kept,  and 
many  of  the  Chinese  can  trace  their  ancestry  to  ten, 
twenty,  thirty,  and  sometimes  ev^en  to  sixty  generations. 
These  registers  are  kept  with  great  care,  and  may  be 
considered  reliable. 

The  Grave. — Heathenism  often  follows  in  the  wake 
of  the  natural  feelings.  Are  not  the  graves  of  earth, 
where  rest  the  mortal  remains  of  loved  ones,  dear  to  us  ? 
In  the  soft  days  of  spring,  do  we  not  carry  in  our  hands 
the  wreath  of  flowers  to  decorate  the  sacred  spots? 
Does  not  the  traveller  from  distant  lands  make  pilgrimages 
to  the  revered  tombs  of  his  parents  ?  And  where  do  we 
retire  for  meditation  and  record  our  solemn  vows  ? 

Ah  !  yes,  but  we  did  not  worship  our  dead  father  and 
mother,  we  worshipped  God  ;  we  did  not  make  our  vows 
before  the  monument  of  marble,  we  recorded  them  before 
God ;  we  did  not  pray  to  our  forefathers,  we  prayed  to 
God. 


Ancestral  Idolatry. 


83 


In  April  the  people  everywhere  gather  at  the  family 
graves  to  sweep  them  and  put  the  grounds  in  repair.  If 
in  the  country,  the  family,  male  and  female,  old  and  young, 
dressed  in  their  richest  robes,  go  in  a  boat  with  a  load 
of  paper  money,  their  provision  baskets,  and  also  lanterns, 
which  are  necessary,  that  the  spirits  may  see.  Before 
the  grave,  which  is  a  mound,  "  the  master  of  ceremonies 
arranges  the  various  offerings  "  of  meats,  vegetables,  and 


Worshipping  at  the  Giavi 


fruits ;  burns  the  incense  and  paper  sycee,  and  lights 
"  the  candles,  for  the  spirits,  being  in  the  dark,  need 
light ; "  "  the  straw  baskets,  filled  with  tin-foil  money,  a 
paper  trunk,  packed  with  paper  clothing,  and  a  paper 
sedan  chair  for  the  deceased  to  ride  in,''  are  committed 
to  the  flames ;  and  "  libations  of  wine  are  poured  on  to 
render  the  fluid  invisible,  and  consequently  available  for 
the  spirits."  "  As  the  blaze  of  the  burning  mass  ascends, 
the   master  of  ceremonies  kneehi  on  a  red  cloth  spread 


84  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

before  his  offerings  and  bows  his  head  nine  times, 
precisely  as  the  people  do  in  the  temples  before  their 
deities.  His  example  is  followed  by  all  the  members  of 
the  family  present,  not  excepting  even  the  younger,  who 
are  receiving  their  first  lessons  in  ancestral  worship." 
Thus  on  the  hillside  and  in  the  grove,  in  the  beautiful 
sunlight,  they  "  worship  the  departed  around  a  festive 
sacrifice,  and  go  through  a  variety  of  ceremonies  and 
prayers." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  prayer  of  the 
Emperor  Taokwang,  April  1832:  "I  presume  to  come 
before  the  grave  of  my  ancestor.  .  .  .  Cherishing 
sentiments  of  veneration  I  look  up  and  sweep  your  tomb. 
Prostrate,  I  pray  that  you  will  come  and  be  present,  and 
that  you  will  grant  to  your  posterity  that  they  may  be 
prosperous  and  illustrious.  .  .  .  Always  grant  your  safe 
protection.  My  trust  is  in  your  divine  spirit.  Eeverently 
I  present  the  five-fold  sacrifice." 

The  Home. — There  are  six  feasts  in  the  year  when 
the  Chinese  conduct  family  worship,  but  the  principal 
one  is  the  last  night  of  the  old  year,  when  the  son  returns 
from  a  distant  city  or  even  from  a  foreign  land,  to  be 
present  at  the  sacrifice,  which  to  him  possesses  the 
solemnity  the  passover  had  to  the  pious  Israelite.  The 
table  is  spread.  There  are  three  kinds  of  meat — fish, 
fowl,  and  pork  ;  there  are  bowls  of  rice  and  vegetables,  a 
decanter  of  wine,  and  bouquets  of  flowers  ;  the  viands 
are  offered  hot,  so  that  the  dead  may  feast  on  the  '^  flavour  " 
or  steam  of  the  food,  which  is  on  the  morrow  eaten  by  the 
living.  At  the  door,  on  a  small  table  or  bench,  are  placed 
a  few  dishes,   so  that  the   spirits  of  the  stranger  or  the 


Ancestral  Idolatry, 


85 


beggar  may  feast,  and  not  intrude  into  the  presence  of 
the  ancestral  guests.  There  is  every  form  of  solemn 
worship, — the  prostrations  of  the  living,  the  sacrifice 
reverently  presented,  and  the  prayers  ottered, — for  "  one 
of  the  strongest  motives  for  this  worship  arises  out  of  the 
belief  that  success  in  worldly  affairs  depends  on  the  support 
given  to  parental  spirits  in  Hades."     Few  petitions  are 


Sacrifice  to  Ancestors. 

offered  to  the  gods  in  the  ''  forms  of  men,"  but  many  to 
deified  father  and  mother. 

An  emperor  in  the  Ming  dynasty  used  the  following 
prayer  :  "  I  think  of  you,  my  sovereign  ancestors,  whose 
glorious  souls  are  in  heaven.  As  from  an  overflowing 
fountain  run  the  happy  streams,  such  is  the  connection 
between  you  and  your  descendants.  I,  a  distant  descend- 
ant,   having    received    the    appointment    from    Heaven, 


86  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

look  back  and  offer  this  bright  sacrifice  to  you,  the 
honoured  ones  from  age  to  age,  for  hundreds  of  thousands 
and  myriads  of  years.  .  .  .  Now  ye  front  us,  0  spirits, 
and  now  ye  pass  by  us,  ascending  and  descending,  un- 
restricted by  conditions  of  space.  Your  souls  are  in 
heaven;  your  tablets  are  in  that  department.  For 
myriads  of  years  will  your  descendants  think  of  you  with 
filial  thoughts  unwearied." 

Here  is  the  "Mount  Zion  "  of  the  devout  Chinese;  at 
the  feast  each  one  enters  the  "  Holy  of  Holies,"  the  idol 
temples  being  "  the  outer  court  of  the  Gentiles  "  for  the 
uninitiated  multitude.  As  far  as  the  feelings  of  a  Mon- 
golian are  capable  of  being  moved  he  approaches  the 
sacrifice  with  "  a  pure  heart,  fervently,"  and  thus  ancestors 
become  tutelary  spirits ;  they  are  the  household  gods,  the 
guardian  angels  who  watch  over  the  home.  "  There  is 
nothing  revolting  or  cruel  connected  with  it,  but  every- 
thing is  orderly,  kind,  and  simple."  "  Parents  and  children 
meet  and  bow  before  the  tablet,  and  in  their  simple  cheer 
contract  no  associations  with  temples  or  idols,  monasteries 
or  priests,  processions  or  flags.  It  is  the  family,  and  a 
stranger  intermeddleth  not  with  it ;  he  has  his  own  tablet 
to  look  at,  and  can  get  no  good  b}^  worshipping  before 
that  bearing  the  names  of  another  family."  "As  the 
children  grow  up,  the  worship  of  the  ancestors  whom  they 
never  saw  is  exchanged  for  that  of  nearer  ones,  who  bore 
and  nurtured,  clothed,  taught,  and  cheered  them  in  help- 
less childhood  and  hopeful  youth,  and  the  whole  is  thus 
rendered  more  personal,  vivid,  and  endearing."  These 
great  occasions,  especially  at  the  closing  hours  of  the 
departing  year,  "are  grand   family  reunions,   where  the 


Ancestral  Idolatry.  87 

dead  and  the  living  meet,  eating  and  drinking  together, 
where  the  living  worship  the  dead,  and  the  dead  bless  the 
living." 

The  Slavery. — Ancestral  worship  is  one  of  the  para- 
doxes of  heathenism,  for  it  contradicts  the  accepted 
beliefs  in  future  rewards  and  punishments  and  in  trans- 
migration. They  worship  for  three  generations,  or  for  five 
at  the  furthest,  as  they  consider  the  state  of  the  soul  to 
be  at  that  time  the  equivalent  of  annihilation. 

"  The  Classics  do  not  chronicle  the  changes,  innovations, 
and  additions  which  have  been  made  in  this  worship  during 
two  thousand  years,"  but  the  "  teachings  of  the  sages 
have  been  the  means  of  perpetuating,  if  not  inaugurating, 
a  system  that  has,  during  successive  dynasties,  fastened 
upon  the  millions  of  China  a  most  degrading  slavery, — 
the  slavery  of  the  living  to  the  dead." 

Magistrates,  "  before  passing  sentence,  usually  ask  if  the 
father  or  mother  are  living,  or  if  there  are  other  brothers, 
for  he  shrinks  from  the  responsibility  of  placing  a  man, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  sacrifice  to  the  dead,  in  a  position 
where  he  would  be  forced  to  neglect  these  sacred  offices." 

The  Emperor  Tungchi,  in  1874,  died  at  nineteen  with- 
out an  heir.  There  were  many  distinguished  statesmen 
among  the  princes  of  blood,  but  to  satisfy  the  raanes  of  his 
Imperial  ancestors,  the  successor  must  be  of  a  generation 
below,  and  so  a  child  of  five  years  was  chosen,  and  the 
interests  of  350,000,000  were  committed  for  many  years 
to  a  regency,  rather  than  interfere  with  ancestral  rites. 

"  As  a  system  ancestral  worship  is  tenfold  more  potent 
for  keeping  the  people  in  darkness  than  all  the  idols  in 
the  land."     "  By  its  deadening  influences  the  nation  has 


88  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

been  kept,  for  ages,  looking  backward  and  downward 
instead  of  forward  and  upward."  The  people  oppose 
progress  "because  it  would  disturb  the  status  between 
men  and  spirits,  and  thus  prove  fatal  to  the  repose  of  the 
dead  and  the  safety  of  the  living." 

"  Should  a.  man  become  a  Christian  and  repudiate 
ancestral  worship,  all  his  ancestors  would  by  that  act  be 
consigned  to  a  state  of  perpetual  beggary.  Imagine,  too, 
the  moral  courage  required  for  an  only  or  the  eldest  son 
to  become  a  Christian,  and  call  down  upon  himself  the 
anathemas  not  only  of  his  own  family  and  friends,  but  of 
the  spirits  of  all  his  ancestors." 

When  we  preach  against  this  form  of  paganism  it  seems 
as  heathenish  to  the  Chinese,  as  if  at  home  we  taught  a 
child  to  disobey  his  father  and  despise  his  mother.  "  It 
forms  one  of  the  subtlest  phases  of  idolatry — essentially 
evil  with  the  guise  of  goodness — ever  established  among 
men." 


CHAI^TER  YII 

CONFUCIUS  :    HIS   CHARACTER   AND   INFLUENCE. 

IT  is  not  easy  in  our  own  minds  to  form  a  just  estimate 
of  the  character  of  a  man  with  whom  we  are  inti- 
mately acquainted,  and  it  is  still  more  difficult  to  speak 
of  him  to  others  in  such  a  way  that  they  may  judge 
correctly  of  his  virtues  and  defects.  What  shall  be  said 
of  the  task  of  formulating  the  life  and  history  of  the 
Chinese  sage,  who  lived  when  the  Jews  returned  from 
Babylon,  when  Greece  was  invaded  by  Xerxes,  and  Egypt 
conquered  by  the  Persians  ?  Light  passing  through  the 
vista  of  twenty-five  centuries  is  at  best  dim  ;  is  it  right 
to  subject  the  master  to  the  tests  of  this  "enlightened 
nineteenth  "  ?  Or  shall  it  be  said  of  us,  that  "  we  weigh 
Confucius  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary"  ?  We  discuss 
the  sages  of  Grreece, — men  whose  thought  lies  embodied 
in  the  development  of  truth  in  after  centuries, — now 
we  present  the  living  philosopher,  "  who,  like  a  skilful 
engineer,  excavated  a  channel  of  thought  for  future 
ages,"  and  who  projected  his  teachings  upon  such  a  plane, 
that,  without  addition  or  change,  they  have  held  despotic 
sway  over  an  empire  of  intellect  for  eighty  generations, 
perhaps  the  greatest  mental  wonder  in  the  world. 

Ancestry. — Pride  of  blood  is  universal.     If  any  family 


90  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

can  with  cause  boast  of  lofty  ancestry,  it  is  the  descend- 
ants of  Confucius,  who,  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
K'anghe,  2,200  years  after  the  time  of  the  sage,  numbered 
11,000  males,  as  shown  by  their  genealogical  tables  so 
carefully  preserved  in  ancestral  halls.  They  claim  to 
trace  their  line  to  the  sovereigns  of  the  Shang  dynasty, 


Confucius. 

centuries  before  Confucius.  ''  His  father,  known  to  us  by 
the  name  of  Leangho,  an  officer  remarkable  for  his 
strength,  bravery,  and  skill,"  won  distinction  at  the  siege 
of  Pihyang.  A  number  of  his  comrades  had  entered  the 
city  by  a  gate  purposely  left  open,  when  the  enemy 
attempted  to  shut  them   in  by  letting  down    the  drop- 


Confucius :  His  Character  and  Influence.     91 

gate,  but  Leangho  stood  below,  and  held  up  the  massive 
structure  till  his  friends  could  escape. 

His  Birth. — Leangho,  near  threescore  and  ten,  with- 
out a  son,  sought  a  second  wife  of  the  Yen  family. 
The  father,  pleased  that  the  county  governor  should  seek 
an  alliance  with  his  house,  summoned  his  daughters,  and 
telling  them  of  the  application  for  a  hand  and  a  heart, 
asked  which  of  them  was  willing  to  be  "  the  old  man's 
darling."  Miss  Chingtsae,  the  youngest,  said,  "  Father, 
why  ask  us?  It  is  for  you  to  decide."'  "  You  will  go,  my 
daughter."     She  was  the  mother  of  Confucius  B.C.  551. 

This  mother  prayed  for  a  son  at  Mount  Xee,  and 
when  he  was  born  his  head  was  shaped  like  this  mountain. 
Two  dragons  appeared  above  the  roof  of  the  cottage 
as  the  guardians  of  the  infant  sage,  and  live  veneral^le 
men  came  from  afar  to  pay  their  respects.  Within 
the  chamber  the  young  mother  heard  music,  and  a  voice 
saying,  "Heaven  is  moved  at  the  birth  of  thy  holy  son, 
and  sends  down  harmonious  sounds."  On  his  body  were 
forty-nine  marks,  and  the  words,  "  He  will  originate 
principles  and  settle  the  affairs  of  men."  Tradition  asserts 
that  the  child  was  bathed  in  a  stream  which  bubbled  up 
from  the  floor,  and  thus  a  fanciful  claim  was  given  to  the 
appellation,  "  Son  of  the  essence  of  water."  A  unicorn 
came  to  his  mother  and  presented  her  with  the  tablet 
he  brought  in  his  mouth,  on  which  was  inscribed,  "  The 
son  of  the  essence  of  water  shall  succeed  to  the  withering 
Chow,  and  be  a  throneless  king''  She  tied  some  red  silk 
to  his  horn  ;  he  tarried  a  night  and  departed.  The 
purport  of  the  language  taken  to  be  prophetic  was, 
"  A  child  of  perfect  purity  shall  be  born  on  the  decline 


92  The  Dragon,  linage^  and  Demon, 

of  the  Chow  dynasty,  and  reign  without  the  insignia  of 
royalty."  ''  The  dignified  title  of  throneless  king  is  the 
earliest  declaration  of  the  royalty  of  intellect,  an  idea 
which  has  appeared  in  subsequent  ages  in  languages  of 
which  Confucius  never  dreamed." 


Dragons  and  Wise  Men. 

His  Youth.— The  aged  soldier  left  the  son  of  his  old 
age,  an  orphan  of  three  years,  to  the  care  of  his  mother, 
who,  though  not  so  celebrated  as  the  mother  of  Mencius, 
yet  carefully  watched  over  his  education  and  moral  train- 
ing. As  a  boy,  it  is  recorded,  ''  he  used  to  play  at  the 
arrangement   of    sacrificial    vessels    and   at    postures   of 


Conf Items :  His   Character  and  Influenee.     93 

ceremony."  At  the  age  of  seven  he  goes  to  a  free 
school,  and  "  he  differed  from  other  children  in  that  his 
knowledge  was  not  acquired  but  intuitive.''  In  the 
Analects  Confucius  tells  us  that  "  at  fifteen  he  bent  his 
mind  to  learning."  His  biographer  mentions  an  occasion 
when,  visiting  an  ancestral  temple,  and  making  minute 
inquiries  about  the  sacrifices,  it  is  said  in  derision,  "  Why 
does  the  district  magistrate's  son  want  to  know  these 
things  ?  "  Confucius,  hearing  the  sneer,  replied,  "  This 
is  ceremony^ 

The  mother  struggled  with  poverty,  but  in  after  years 
the  sage  looked  back  on  a  youth  of  penury  as  directly 
promoting  intellectual  vigour.  "  When  I  was  young  my 
condition  was  low,  and  therefore  I  acquired  my  ability  in 
many  things."  With  no  books — only  a  few  odes,  frag- 
mentary documents  of  history,  and  scattered  manuscripts 
— he  made  antiquity  his  study,  and  there  sought  for  ideal 
perfection. 

The  Age — The  sixth  century  before  Christ  was  ren- 
dered illustrious  by  great  sages,  who  exercised  a  mighty 
influence  on  the  minds  and  religions  of  men.  In  Greece 
rose  Pythagoras,  Shakyamuni  lived  in  India,  Zoroaster 
in  Persia,  and  in  China  Confucius.  To  appreciate  the 
superiority  of  the  sage,  we  must  look  at  the  darkness  of 
the  age.  "  The  state  of  China  in  the  time  of  Confucius 
was  analogous  to  one  of  the  European  kingdoms  during 
the  feudal  system.  There  were  thirteen  principalities 
of  greater  note  and  a  large  number  of  smaller  dependencies. 
The  chiefs  quarrelled  and  warred  among  themselves,  and 
a  similar  condition  of  things  prevailed  in  each  State,  the 
hereditary  families  encroaching  on  the  authority  of  their 


94  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

rulers,  and  these  families  being  frequently  hard  pressed  by 
their  inferior  officers."  The  wilderness  of  ancient  China 
was  an  unpromising  field  for  a  philosopher,  but  he 
accompli.shed  for  his  people  what  conquered  Greece 
did  for  her  conquering  Roman  foe. 

Marriage. — He  was  married  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
It  is  thought  he  was  divorced  from  his  wife,  but  the 
interpretation  of  the  passage  on  which  the  fact  is  based 
is  uncertain.  At  the  birth  of  his  son  the  prince  sent  him 
a  congratulatory  present  of  fish,  whereupon,  in  compli- 
ment to  his  friend,  he  called  his  boy  "  Uncle  Fish."  The 
records  of  the  philosopher's  life  show  no  play  of  parental 
affection,  and  he  seems  to  have  maintained  a  distant 
reserve  in  the  treatment  of  his  son.  "  Have  you  heard 
any  lessons  of  your  father  different  from  what  we  have 
learned  ?  "  asked  a  disciple  of  "  Uncle  Fish."  He  replied, 
"  He  was  standing  alone,  and  as  I  passed  by  he  asked, 
'  Have  you  read  the  odes  ? '  and  on  my  saying  '  Not  yet,' 
he  remarked,  '  If  you  do  not  learn  the  odes,  you  will  not 
be  fit  to  converse  with.'  Another  day  he  asked,  '  Have 
you  read  the  book  of  propriety  ?  '  '  Not  yet.'  '  If  you  do 
not  learn  the  book  of  propriety  your  character  cannot  be 
established.'  I  have  heard  only  these  two  things  from 
my  father."  The  disciple  was  delighted,  and  said,  "I 
have  got  three  things.  I  have  heard  about  the  odes,  the 
rules  of  propriety,  and  that  a  superior  man  maintains  a 
distant  reserve  towards  his  son." 

Public  Teacher.—In  his  twenty-second  year  Confucius 
became  a  public  teacher,  and  soon  after  his  house  was  a 
resort,  "  not  for  schoolboys,  but  for  young  and  inquiring 
spirits,  who  wished  to  increase  their  knowledge  of  the 


Confticms :  His   Character  and  Influence.     95 

history  and  the  doctrines  of  the  past."  However  small 
the  fee  the  pupil  might  bring,  provided  there  was  a  thirst 
for  knowledge,  he  was  welcome  in  his  academy.  "  P>om 
the  man  bringing  his  bundle  of  dried  flesh  for  my  wages, 
I  have  never  refused  instruction  to  any  one."  His  object 
was  not  simply  to  impart  knowledge  ;  it  was  to  teach  men 
to  think  for  themselves.  The  sage  thus  aptly  describes 
the  art  of  teaching :  "  I  do  not  open  the  truth  to  one  who 
is  not  eager  to  get  knowledge,  nor  help  out  one  who 
is  not  anxious  to  explain  himself.  When  I  have  pre- 
sented one  corner  of  a  subject  to  any  one,  and  he  cannot 
from  it  learn  the  other  three,  I  do  not  repeat  my 
lesson." 

When  Confucius  was  thirty-five  years  old,  the  prime 
minister  of  the  State  of  Loo,  upon  his  death-bed,  directed 
that  his  son  "  should  enter  the  Confucian  school,"  as  its 
teacher  was  one  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  teachings 
of  antiquity.  The  patronage  of  this  family  gave  quite 
a  turn  to  the  sage's  fortunes.  "  The  same  year  he  was 
able  to  visit  the  capital,  and  make  fuller  inquiries  into 
the  ceremonies  and  rules  of  the  founder  of  the  Chow 
dynasty."  At  times  his  disciples  numbered  three 
thousand,  probably  many  of  them  poor  men,  who  had  left 
their  proper  avocations,  and  came  to  the  master  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  to  ask  special  counsel ;  and  as  for  a  half 
century  he  had  fame  as  a  political  reformer  and  moral 
philosopher,  public  opinion  began  to  be  regulated  by  his 
opinions.  "  The  influence  he  exercised  as  the  recognised 
authority  upon  all  questions  relating  to  the  early  history 
of  the  empire,  and  as  the  eloquent  expounder  of  those 
great  moral  principles  which   his  historical  studies  bad 


96  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

convinced  him  should  form  the  basis  of  legislation,"  was 
felt  throughout  the  thirteen  states. 

Devotion  of  His  Pupils. — The  sage,  possessed  of  a 
personal  magnetism,  "  moved  amid  a  company  of  admiring 
followers."  His  family  and  his  friends,  who  watched  every 
movement,  recorded  everything  said  or  done,  and  drank 
from  the  fount  of  his  practical  wisdom.  His  generosity 
was  unbounded.  A  prince  gives  him  a  present  of  6,400 
piculs  of  grain ;  he  gives  it  to  his  poor  disciples,  and  says, 
"  The  prince  gave  it  to  me  because  he  loved  me  ;  it  is 
much  better  to  love  many  than  to  love  one."  In  his 
peripatetic  school,  with  his  students  he  is  unrestrained, 
and  conducts  himself  with  simple  and  genial  frankness, 
and  their  "  devotion  is  a  proof  of  his  extraordinary  force 
of  character  and  of  the  moral  excellence  of  his  life."  "  The 
pupils  walk  with  him,  and  ask  questions  on  all  conceivable 
subjects ;  on  literature,  music,  costume,  court  etiquette, 
war,  taxation,  statesmanship." 

One  day,  seeing  a  bucket  in  a  temple  with  the  handles 
attached  halfway  down  the  sides,  so  suspended  that  when 
empty  it  swung  crooked,  when  partly  filled  it  hung 
straight,  and  when  full  it  turned  over,  Confucius 
moralised  on  humility,  to  the  effect  that  a  man  with  no 
knowledge  will  be  deflected  from  the  right  line,  a 
conceited  man  will  turn  a  somersault,  while  a  moderate 
estimate  of  one's  powers  is  best.  He  told  his  students 
that  it  "  was  impossible  to  have  too  much  knowledge,  but 
we  must  beware  of  having  too  much  riches,  pride,  and 
power."  "  Aimless  living  was  one  of  the  things  he 
hated."  On  one  occasion,  walking  beside  a  stream,  he 
said,    "  I    was   making   a   comparison   in    my  own  mind 


Confucitcs  :  His   Character  and  Infiiience.     97 

between  the  running  of  water  and  of  doctrine.  The 
water  runs  unceasingly  by  day  and  by  night.  Since  the 
days  of  Yao  and  Shun  the  pure  doctrine  has  uninter- 
ruptedly descended  to  us.  Let  us  in  our  turn  transmit  it 
to  those  who  come  after  us,  that  they,  from  our  example, 
may  give  it  to  their  descendants  to  the  end  of  time." 

The  prominent  causes  of  the  influence  of  Confucius 
were,  first,  "  his  books  became  the  standard  of  religious, 
moral,  and  political  wisdom ;  "  second,  he  organised  the 
literati  into  a  host  of  well-disciplined  minds ;  third,  the 
power  he  exercised  over  his  personal  disciples ;  and  lastly, 
their  enthusiastic  admiration.  "  They  began  the  paean 
which  has  since  resounded  through  all  the  intervening 
ages,"  speaking  the  praises  of  him  who  was  as  far  above 
his  fellows  as  Mount  T'ai — the  highest  peak  in  China,  and 
around  which  the  sage  passed  and  repassed  many  times^ 
is  above  the  hills  of  Shantung.  "  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  exerted  a  greater  influence  on  the  destinies  of  the 
emj)ire  than  he  could  have  done  had  he  been  seated  on 
the  Imperial  throne." 

The  recorded  testimonies  of  his  disciples  would  fill 
pages.  "  The  talents  and  virtues  of  other  men  are  as 
mounds  and  hillocks  which  may  be  stepped  over  ;  Confucius 
is  the  sun  and  moon,  which  cannot  possibly  be  stepped 
over."  ^'  Our  master  cannot  be  attained  to,  just  in  the  same 
way  the  heavens  cannot  be  gone  up  to  by  the  steps  of  a 
stair."  "  From  the  birth  of  mankind  till  now  there  has 
never  been  one  so  complete  as  Confucius."  The  author 
of  the  "  Doctrine  of  the  Mean  "  says,  "  Wherever  the  sky 
overarches  and  the  earth  sustains,  and  sun  and  moon 
shine,  and  frosts  and  dews  fall,  all  that  have  blood  and 


98  TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

breath  unfeignedly  honour  and  love  him.  Hence  he  is 
called  the  companion  of  Heaven."  Heaven,  earth,  and 
Confucius  are  the  trinity  of  the  scholars. 

A  Mandarin. — At  the  age  of  twenty  he  had  so 
gained  the  respect  of  his  townsmen  for  his  ''  grave 
demeanour  and  knowledge  of  ancient  learning,"  that  he 
received  an  appointment  in  the  revenue  office,  and 
succeeded  in  fixing  the  standard  for  weights  and  measures 
(which  has,  unfortunately,  been  lost),  and  in  the  year 
following  he  was  made  supervisor  of  the  fields,  herds,  and 
parks,  and  his  district  became  famous  for  its  fine  stock. 
At  the  death  of  his  mother,  "  in  conformity  with  an 
ancient  usage  which  had  then  fallen  into  disuse,  he 
immediately  resigned  all  his  employments  to  mourn  for 
three  years,  during  which  time  he  devoted  himself  to 
study  (retiring  to  his  home  as  Paul  did  to  Arabia),  and 
examined  everything  past  and  present  with  the  closest 
scrutiny.'  When  near  fifty  years  of  age  he  was 
appointed  governor  of  the  city  of  Chungtu,  and  after- 
wards was  Minister  of  Crime  in  the  kingdom  of  Loo. 
His  principle  of  government  was  centralisation ;  and  he 
succeeded  m  "  dismantling  the  fortified  cities  held  by  the 
great  clans,  which  served  the  same  purpose  as  the  castles 
owned  by  the  barons  of  Europe  in  the  feudal  ages." 
Among  the  beneficial  effects  of  his  administration  were 
these — that  old  and  young  ate  apart,  men  and  women 
walked  apart,  a  parcel  might  in  safety  be  dropped  along 
the  road,  honest  prices  were  asked  for  goods,  and  coffins 
were  four  inches  thick.  His  eulogists  say,  "  A  trans- 
forming government  went  abroad.  Dishonesty  and 
dissoluteness  were  ashamed,  and  hid  their  heads.    Loyalty 


Confucius :   His  Character  and  Infiiience.     99 

and  good  faith  became  the  characteristics  of  the  men,  and 
chastity  and  docility  those  of  the  women.  Confucius 
became  the  idol  of  the  people,  and  flew  in  songs  through 
their  mouths." 

The  wise  administration  of  Confucius,  during  the  time 
he  figured  as  a  politician,  was  raising  the  kingdom  of 
Loo  to  a  pre-eminence  over  the  rival  states.  The  duke 
or  governor  of  Che,  seeing  Loo  becoming  the  resort  of 
the  learned,  thought  it  was  becoming  a  dangerous  neigh- 
bour, and  he  resolved  to  alienate  the  sovereign  from 
his  minister,  and  "  drive  the  obnoxious  cynic  from  his 
counsels."  His  artifice  succeeded.  Eighty  beautiful 
women,  skilled  in  music  and  the  dance,  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  "  blooded  "  steeds,  were  sent  as  a  present  to 
the  throne.  The  king  abandoned  himself  to  the  pursuit 
of  pleasure,  and  the  presence  of  the  sage  became  irksome 
to  the  ruler.  The  court  was  no  place  for  the  patriot. 
The  great  sacrifice  to  Heaven,  by  which  Confucius  hoped 
the  prince  might  be  brought  to  his  right  mind,  was 
neglected,  so  he  "  regretfully  took  his  departure,  going 
away  slowly  and  by  easy  stages.  He  would  have  wel- 
comed a  messenger  of  recall.  The  sovereign,  however, 
continued  in  his  abandonment,"  and  the  sage  left  his 
office,  his  home,  and  his  country. 

A  Wanderer. — ''  For  thirteen  years  he  travelled  from 
one  feudal  state  to  another,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none,  always  hoping  to  meet  with  a  ruler  who  would 
adopt  his  counsel,  and  always  disappointed."  Confucius 
saw  "  the  application  of  his  theory  of  government  was 
a  great  success,  and  amidst  these  troublous  times  of 
semi-barbarous,    warring    kingdoms,    the    heart    of    the 


lOO        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


statesman  was  filled  with  sadness."  He  said,  "  But  what 
matters  the  ingratitude  of  men  ?  They  cannot  hinder  me 
from  doing  all  the  good  that  has  been  appointed  me. 
If  my  precepts  are  disregarded,  I  have  the  consolation  of 
knowing  in  my  own  breast  that  I  have  faithfully  per- 
formed my  duty."  "  His  fame  had  gone  before  him,  and 
most  of  the  princes  whom  he  visited  received  him  with 
distinction,  and  would  gladly  have  given  him  office  and 


The  Sage's  Chariot. 

retained  him  at  their  courts ;  but  no  one  was  prepared  to 
accept  his  principles  and  act  them  out." 

A  duke,  pleased  with  having  his  domains  honoured  by 
the  presence  of  so  great  a  man,  but  who  did  not  wish 
to  follow  his  rigid  system  of  honest  government,  proposed 
to  'give  the  sage  the  revenues  of  the  town  of  Linkew. 
Confucius  declined  the  offer,  and  said  to  his  followers  : 
"  A  superior  man  will   only  receive  reward  for   services 


Confucius :   His  Character  and  Influence,    i  o  i 

which  he  has  done.  I  have  given  advice  to  the  duke, 
and  he  has  not  yet  obeyed  it,  and  now  he  would  endow 
me  with  this  place.  Very  far  is  he  from  understanding 
me."  His  motto  was  office  and  principle,  or  poverty  and 
honour.  He  said,  "  Viiih  coarse  rice  to  eat,  with  water  to 
drink,  and  my  bended  arm  for  a  pillow,  I  have  still  joy 
in  these  things.  Riches  and  honours  acquired  by  un- 
righteousness are  to  me  as  a  floating  cloud.''  Just  as 
no  one  mourns  over  the  results  of  the  prison  life  of 
Bunyan,  we  can  be  glad  that  Confucius'  years  were  not 
taken  up  with  the  busy  details  of  an  official  career,  but 
that  he  had  time  to  study  and  to  reflect,  to  teach  and  to 
write.  • 

Called  of  Heaven.— During  all  the  hardships  which 
fell  to  the  lot  of  the  sage,  who  truly,  in  an  earthly  sense, 
was  a  "  pilgrim  and  a  stranger,"  "with  no  abiding  city," 
his  soul  seemed  profoundly  impressed  with  the  thought 
that  he  was  appointed  to  this  high  task  by  Heaven.  He 
said,  "  But  there  is  Heaven  ;  it  knows  me."  Again,  ''  I 
am  a  man  who  belongs  equally  to  the  north  and  the 
south,  the  east  and  the  west."  He  had  a  presentiment 
of  the  future  of  his  school.  "He  would  travel,  and  his 
way  might  be  directed  to  some  wise  ruler,  whom  his 
counsels  would  conduct  to  a  beneficent  sway  that  would 
break  forth  on  every  side  till  it  transformed  the  empire." 

Often  in  passing  from  place  to  place  his  life  was  in 
great  danger,  and  once,  when  an  attack  was  made  upon 
his  company,  he  sat  quietly  teaching  his  chosen  pupils 
in  a  forest  while  armed  banditti  stood  guard  around  the 
undaunted  sage,  who  said,  "  After  the  death  of  King  Wan, 
was  not  the  cause  of  truth  lodged  in  me  ?     If  Heaven 


I02         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

had  wished  to  let  this  cause  of  truth  perish,  then  I,  a 
future  mortal,  should  not  have  such  a  relation  to  it." 
At  one  time  a  malicious  chieftain  sent  a  band  to  assassi- 
nate the  philosopher.  He  observed  to  his  disciples  : 
"  Heaven  has  produced  the  virtue  that  is  in  me  ;  what 
can    Hwantuy   do   to    me  ? "     "He    claimed    no   Divine 


The  Sage  and  the  Banditti. 


commission  or  Messianic   destiny,"   but   simply  that  he 
was  a  teacher  sent  to  help  mankind. 

A  Man  of  the  Past— The  sage  constantly  referred 
to  the  golden  age  of  the  past ;  antiquity  was  his  theme 
in  school,  antiquity  his  example  in  court,  antiquity  the 
lamp  to  guide  the  nation,  antiquity  the  goal  to  which 
China  was  to  be  carried  in  the  backward  flight  of  time, 
antiquity  "the  perfect  type   of  society   and   manhood." 


Confucms :   His  Character  and  Influence.     103 

His  watchword  was  not  Advance  !  but  Return  !  for  "  he 
came  not  to  fulfil  but  to  restore."  "  The  book  of  Con- 
fucius is  a  Bible  with  a  paradise  lost,  but  no  apocalyptic 
vision  of  a  paradise  to  be  regained."  He  stated,  "  I  am 
not  one  who  was  born  in  the  possession  of  knowledge ;  I 
am  one  who  is  fond  of  antiquity,  and  earnest  in  seeking 
it  there."  Confucius  pretended  to  no  originality  in  his 
teachings.     "  I  am  an   editor,   and  not  an  author."     He 


The  Musician. 


did  not  introduce  a  new  system  of  ethics  or  political 
philosophy,  but,  satisfied  with  the  state  of  perfection  to 
which,  in  his  imagination,  the  aborigines  attained,  he 
sought  only  to  transmit  the  lessons  of  morals  and  govern- 
ment which  they  had  inculcated,  not  to  be  the  maher 
of  a  new  code  or  the  founder  of  a  new  school.  He  says, 
"  A  transmitter  and  not  a  maker,  believing  in  and  loving 
the  ancients,  I  venture  to  compare  myself  with  our  old 
Pang." 


I04        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


The  Musician. — The  pictorial  life  of  Confucius, 
which  is  engraved  in  stone  upon  the  walls  of  the  temple 
in  his  native  town,  continually  represents  the  sage  as 
playing  upon  his  harp,  and  this  love  of  soft  sounds  gave 
a  mellowness  to  a  character  naturally  so  rigid  and  in- 
flexible. ''  His  enthusiasm  for  peculiar  forms  of  ancient 
music,  which  he  describes  as  both  beautiful  and  good,  was 
so  great,  that  it  made  him  forget  the  taste  of  food  for 
days."  In  learning  music  he  took  King  Wan  as  his 
model,  a  man  he  describes  as  "  black,  tall,  and  with  a  sea- 
eye." 

Humility. — Confucius  was  conscious  of  his  personal 
defects,  and  spoke  humbly  of  himself.  "  The  sage  and 
the  man  of  perfect  virtue,  how  dare  I  rank  myself  with 
them  ?  "  "  In  letters  I  am  perhaps  equal  to  other  men, 
but  the  character  of  the  superior  man,  carrying  out  in 
his  conduct  what  he  professes,  is  what  I  have  not  yet 
attained  to."  "The  leaving  virtue  without  proper  culti- 
vation, the  not  thoroughly  discussing  what  is  learned, 
not  being  able  to  move  towards  righteousness,  of  which  a 
knowledge  is  gained,  and  not  being  able  to  change  what 
is  not  good, — these  are  the  things  which  occasion  me 
solicitude." 

Sinless. — The  sayings  of  the  Grentile  sage  forcibly 
remind  one  of  the  words  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Grentiles  : 
"  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained  or  were  already 
perfect."  The  Chinese  now  say  of  the  repeated  attesta- 
tions of  his  shortcomings,  "  Oh,  these  are  only  polite 
euphemisms  !  "  They  consider  that  Confucius  was  imma- 
culate. He  was  without  sin;  he  never  sinned  ;  he  could 
not  sin.     They  lay  claim   for  him  to  infallibility.     The 


Confiuius :   His   Character  and  Infltience.     105 


Confucianist  makes  the  sinless  perfection  of  the  sage  as 
absolute  as  the  Christian  does  for  his  Lord.  This  makes 
it  necessary  for  us  to  speak  on  the  subject  clearly  and 
firmly,  yet  gently,  for  it  is  not  in  good  taste  for  the 
Western  teacher  "  to  drive  his  carriage  roughly  over  the 
master's  grave." 

Ritualism. — The  combination  of  the  great  and  small 
in  the  character  of  Confucius  makes  the  delineation  of  his 
character  difficult,  as  it  is  a  combination  of  the  telescope  of 
the  philosopher  and  the  microscope  of  the  ritualist.  Ethics 
and  etiquette  are  twin  sisters  in  Confucianism.  The  sage 
who  was  the  founder  of  ritualism  was  a  "  Chinese  of  the 
Chinese,  and  stamped  his  image  upon  the  nation ; "  apes, 
who  make  mock  at  celestial  mummery,  should  come  to 
the  Middle  Kingdom,  and  take  lessons  from  mandarins 
and  posture-makers  in  "  genuflections,  bows,  and  facial 
movements."  "In  every  country  but  China  fashion  is  the 
synonym  for  change,  but  Confucius  fettered  this  Proteus 
and  arrested  this  revolving  wheel."  "  A  whole  book  in 
the  Analects  is  occupied  with  his  deportment,  eating,  and 
dress."  His  was  true  politeness  ;  "  he  bowed  down  to  the 
cross-bar  of  his  cart  on  passing  a  mourner."  "  When  the 
prince  called  Confucius  to  employ  him  in  the  reception  of 
a  visitor,  his  countenance  appeared  to  change  and  his  legs 
to  bend  beneath  him,"^so  we  have  "  the  comical  figure  of 
a  great  sage  trembling  in  the  legs  when  officially  receiv- 
ing a  public  guest."  Going  to  the  palace,  "  He  bowed  to 
the  other  officers  among  whom  he  stood,  moving  his  left 
arm  or  his  right,  but  keeping  the  skirts  of  his  robe  before 
and  behind  evenly  adjusted.  He  hastened  forward  with 
his    arms    like    the  wings    of  a  bird.     He    ascended    the 


io6        TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


platform  holding  up  his  robe  with  both  hands,  and  his 
body  bent,  holding  in  his  breath  also,  as  if  he  dare  not 
breathe.  When  he  came  out  from  the  audience,  and  had 
descended  one  step,  he  began  to  relax  his  countenance, 
and  had  a  satisfied  look."  "  If  his  mat  was  not  straight 
he  did  not  sit  on  it."  He  was  nice  in  his  diet,  "  not  dis- 
liking to  have  his  rice  dressed  fine,  nor  to  have  his  meat 
cut  small.  There  must  'always  be  ginger  on  the  table, 
and  when  eating  he  did  not  converse." 

To  Confucius  man-millinery  was  all  important.  "  His 
dress,  which  has  not  a  speck  of  red  about  it,  consists  of 
silk  and  furs.  If  he  wears  lamb's  fur,  his  garment  is 
black ;  if  fawn's  fur,  white ;  if  fox's  fur,  yellow.  His 
right  sleeve  is  shorter  than  his  left."  In  bed  he  was  not 
unmindful  of  posture.  "  He  did  not  lie  like  a  corpse,  and 
he  did  not  speak.  He  required  his  sleeping  dress  to  be 
half  as  long  again  as  his  body." 

This  is  the  original  portrait ;  the  number  of  copies  has 
been  prodigious.  As  you  pass  along  the  street  and  see 
through  the  open  door  a  feast  in  the  great  hall  of  a 
mansion,  and  the  guests  with  long  bonnets,  top  boots,  and 
robes  of  blue,  green,  or  black  silk  and  satin,  all  stepping 
about  and  parading  around,  interchanging  bows  and  com- 
pliments, with  nothing  to  talk  about,  you  can  think  of  no 
other  emblem  of  the  model  literary  Chinaman  than  the 
strutting  pigeon. 

On  the  other  hand,  looking  at  this  empire  of  Confucian 
formalists,  where  from  "  throneless  king  "  and  sceptred 
monarch,  through  all  ranks  and  classes,  it  is  nothing 
"  save  ceremony,  general  ceremony,"  we  cannot  but  feel 
there  is  an  element  of  stability  in  forms,  etiquette,  and 


Confucitis :   His  Character  and  Infitience.     107 

ritual  in  giving  uniqueness  and  symmetry  to  the  mass, 
though  it  deadens  the  sensibilities  of  the  heart,  fetters 
intellectual  activity,  and  merges  individuality  into  the 
rank  and  file  of  uniformity,  so  that  "  religion  in  China  is 
rather  a  body  of  ceremonies  than  a  system  of  doctrine." 

The  Silver  Rule. — The  Confucian  philosophy  is  emi- 
nently practical,  dealing  with  man  in  his  relation  to  his 
fellow-man,  and  teaching  him  ''to  do  justly  and  love 
mercy,"  but  with  no  searching  into  the  workings  of  the 
immortal  mind,  as  in  the  Grrecian  schools,  no  lofty  reason- 
ing ;  not  metaphysical  in  any  sense.  Five  hundred  years 
before  the  days  of  our  Saviour  the  sage  enunciated  the 
silver  rule, — the  golden  rule  in  a  negative  form.  It  is 
recorded  twice,  ''  What  I  do  not  wish  men  to  do  to  me, 
I  also  wish  not  to  do  to  men ; "  "  What  you  do  not  want 
done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others."  Our  Lord  com- 
mands men  to  do  what  they  judge  is  right  and  good  ; 
Confucius  forbids  doing  what  we  esteem  wrong  and 
hurtful;  yet  the  silver  and  the  gold  are  both  precious 
metals.  If  Locke  could  speak  of  the  one  as  "  the  most 
unshaken  rule  of  morality  and  foundation  of  all  social 
virtue,"  the  other  might  be  considered  the  keystone  in 
the  arch  of  Chinese  ethics,  and  to  have  enunciated  such  a 
rule  proves  the  sage  to  have  been  both  good  and  great. 

For  Confucius'  views  about  ancestors,  see  Chapter  VI. 

The  Marvellous. — The  facts  in  the  next  two  pages 
are  taken  from  the  stone-engraved  pictorial  life  of  the 
sage,  which  adorns  the  walls  of  the  temple  near  his  grave. 
They  are  given  just  as  they  are  there  stated. 

A  vertebra  as  large  as  the  wheel  of  a  wheelbarrow 
having  been  found,  a  messenger  from  the  duke  asks  Con- 


io8        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

fucius,  "Who  of  the  ancients  had  such  a  big  hone?" 
He  answered,  "When  the  Emperor  Yu  assembled  the 
host  of  gods  at  Mount  Weikee,  Pangfung  came  last,  and 
Yu  cut  off  his  head.  His  bones  were  as  big  as  the  wheel 
of  a  barrow." 

A  large  red  bird  brings  to  the  king  an  inscription  on 


Weeping  for  the  Ui)icorn, 


bamboo,  and  places  it  at  the  palace  door.  He  inquires  of 
the  sage  the  interpretation,  who  says,  "  that  a  king  of  the 
Hea  dynasty  had  a  '  precious  efficacious  prescription,'  and 
that  he  left  it  on  a  mountain  in  a  casket,  and  now  the 
bird  brings  it  to  him  as  a  gift  from  Heaven." 
Confucius,  with  one  of  his  disciples,  went  to  the  summit 


Confucius :   His  Character  and  Influence.     109 

of  Mount  T'ai,  and  the  latter  asked,  "  If  that  white  thing 
outside  of  the  Chang  Gate  at  Soochow  (600  miles)  was  a 
bolt  of  white  cloth  ?  "  Confucius  said,  "  No,  it  is  a  white 
horse."  "  The  eye  of  the  sage  is  god-like,"  says  his 
biographer. 

Prophetic. — Confucius  on  one  occasion  told  his  disciples 
to  take  their  umbrellas  and  rain-shoes.  There  was  after- 
wards a  big  rain,  though  the  sky  was  clear  when  they 
set  out,  They  asked  how  he  came  to  be  a  weather-cock. 
He  answered,  ''  Last  night  I  saw  the  moon  and  Taurus  in 
conjunction." 

A  one-footed  bird,  flying  into  the  court  of  the  palace  of 
Shang,  stretched  out  its  wings  and  hopped.  The  king 
sends  to  inquire  of  the  master  the  meaning  of  its  appear- 
ance, who  replies  that  it  had  been  lamed  by  a  little  child, 
who  said,  "  Wherever  you  fly  to  there  will  be  a  flood." 
The  philosopher  says,  "  It  portends  a  flood,  let  the  people 
build  their  dykes  and  open  the  sluices."  The  other 
States  were  flooded,  but  the  State  of  Shang  escaped  the 
devastations. 

Superstitious. — A  man  digging  a  well  finds  a  little 
animal  like  a  rat.  When  it  was  brought  to  Confucius 
he  examined  it  very  carefully,  and  said,  "  There  are 
many  kinds  of  goblins ;  this  is  the  earth-goblin,  and  is 
called  a  sheep-sprite." 

We  noted  the  great  event  of  the  appearance  of  the 
unicorn  at  the  birth  of  the  sage.  In  the  latter  days  of 
his  life,  Confucius,  hearing  that  some  countrymen  had 
killed  a  unicorn,  left  off  the  compilation  of  the  "  Spring 
and  Autumn,"  and  hastened  to  the  spot.  When  he 
beheld  the  dead  animal  he  wept,  and  cried  ''0  unicorn! 


no        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


0  unicorn  !  King  among  the  beasts,  since  you  are  dead, 
my  doctrine  can  make  no  progress." 

Want   of  Truth It   seems   unfair   to  take   one   or 

two  incidents  in  a  long  life,  and  make  general  deduc- 
tions as  to  character ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not 
required  that  we  should  be  silent,  for  one  of  the  things 
which  Confucius  proposed  to  teach  was  truthfulness.  Let 
us  see  how  his  practice  corresponded  with  his  theory. 
An  instance  is  given  in  his  history  of  a  brave  officer 
bringing  up  gallantly  the  rear,  who  modestly  said  his 
horse  would  not  go  faster.  Confucius  praised  the  man 
for  attributing  it  to  another  than  the  right  cause. 

Again,  a  man  called  whom  the  sage  did  not  wish  to 
see,  and  he  feigned  sickness  (as  now  is  done  in  fashion- 
able circles)  ;  but  as  he  wished  him  to  know  he  intended 
disrespect,  when  the  visitor  departed  he  took  his  harpsi- 
chord, sat  in  the  door,  and  played.  This  is  a  celebrated 
event  in  Chinese  books  and  pictures.  As  it  is  an  axiom 
that  Confucius  was  sinless,  the  only  way  of  escape  for 
the  commentator  is  that  deception  is  not  a  lie,  so  the 
above  instance  is  the  dead  fly  in  their  moral  ointment. 

Confucius  once  journeyed  southward  near  the  Yangtse 
River.  He  was  stopped  on  his  journey  by  a  prince,  and 
promised  to  go  no  further.  He  went  on  notwithstanding, 
and  when  questioned  by  a  disciple  said,  "  It  was  a  forced 
oath;  the  gods  do  not  hear  such."  Well  doth  the 
prophet  Esaias  say,  "  0  my  people,  they  which  lead  thee 
cause  thee  to  err  and  destroy  the  way  of  thy  paths." 

The  Historian.— The  "  Spring  and  Autumn  "  is  a 
brief  history  of  the  State  of  Loo,  written  by  the  pen  of 
the    sage,   and   of  it   he    says:    "It  is   the   Spring   and 


Confucius  :   His  Character  and  Infiitence.     1 1 1 

Autumn  which  will  make  men  know  me,  and  it  is  the 
Spring  and  Autumn  which  will  make  men  condemn  me." 
The  work  is  a  table  of  events,  from  five  to  eight  per 
annum,  chronicled  in  about  as  many  words.  "  We  find 
a  congeries  of  the  briefest  possible  intimations  of  matters 
in  which  the  court  and  State  of  Loo  were  concerned, 
without  the  slightest  tincture  of  literary  ability  in  the 
composition.  Whether  the  fact  be  a  display  of  virtue 
or  a  deed  of  atrocity,  there  is  nothing  in  the  language 
to  convey  the  shadow  of  an  idea  of  the  author's  feelings 
about  it.  A  base  murder  and  a  shining  act  of  heroism 
are  chronicled  just  as  the  eclipses  of  the  sun."  In 
Grreece  it  was  an  age  of  distinguished  writers,  and  from 
ancient  times  the  position  of  the  historiographer  in 
China  has  been  an  exalted  one.  There  are  several 
passages  in  the  "  Spring  and  Autumn "  to  show  that 
Confucius  not  only  conceals  the  truth,  but  also  mis- 
represents. His  great  translator  thus  speaks:  "(1)  He 
had  no  reverence  for  truth  in  history,  I  might  say  no 
reverence  for  truth  without  any  modification.  (2)  He 
shrank  from  looking  truth  squarely  in  the  face.  (3)  He 
had  more  sympathy  with  power  than  with  weakness,  and 
would  overlook  wickedness  and  oppression  in  authority." 
His  Influence. — The  influence  of  the  master  in  China 
for  good  has  been  marvellous.  The  simple  fact  that  the 
Confucian  Classics  constitute  the  entire  curriculum  of  the 
schools  proves  his  power  in  the  domain  of  mind,  and  the 
people,  without  considering  the  fact  that  there  were  books 
in  his  day,  universally  ascribe  to  him  the  invention  of 
letters.  His  defects  were  like  the  spots  on  the  sun's  disc, 
that  do  not  "  obscure  the  splendour  of  those  rays  "  which 


1 1 2         The  Di^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

sent  many  a  beam  of  light  across  "  the  unpoetic  life  of 
China."  "  We  must  admire  his  purity  of  life  and  nobility 
of  spirit."  "  He  possessed  a  stoical  reliance  on  the  dignity 
of  human  nature  ;  he  appealed  to  humanity  ;  his  response 
is  the  veneration  of  millions  ;  a  tribute  not  to  miraculous 
power,  but  to  pure  force  of  character."  The  light  of 
nature,  as  it  shines  in  the  life  of  Sinim's  philosopher, 
proves  that  "  when  the  Gentiles,  having  not  the  law, 
do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law ;  these, 
having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves."  The 
moral  law  of  China  was  written  on  the  Mount  of 
Conscience. 

The  entrance  of  foreign  civilisation,  the  introduction 
of  Western  science,  the  displacement  of  the  "  Five  Classics 
and  Four  Books "  in  the  schools,  and  most  of  all  the 
foolishness  of  preaching,  will  cause  the  sun  of  Confucius, 
which  reached  its  zenith  ages  ago,  to  turn  on  its  west- 
ward decline.  "  Where  is  the  wise  ?  Where  is  the 
scribe  ?  " 

The  Books  and  the  Altar.— It  is  said  that  the 
concluding  act  of  his  life  was  the  solemn  dedication  of 
his  Uterary  labours  to  Heaven.  "  He  assembled  all  his 
disciples,  and  led  them  out  of  the  town  to  one  of  the 
hills,  where  sacrifices  had  usually  been  offered  up  for 
many  years.  Here  he  erected  an  altar,  upon  which  he 
placed  the  books ;  and  then,  turning  his  face  to  the 
north,  adored  Heaven,  and  returned  thanks  upon  his 
knees  in  a  humble  manner,  for  having  had  life  and 
strength  granted  him  to  accomplish  this  laborious  under- 
taking;  he  implored  Heaven  to  grant  that  the  benefit 
to  his  countrymen  might    not  be    small.     He    had  pre- 


Confucius :   His  Character  and  Influence.     1 1 3 

pared  himself  for  this  ceremony  by  privacy,  fasting,  and 
prayer."  The  stone  engraving  represents  the  sage  in 
the  attitude  of  suppHcation,  while  a  beam  of  light 
descends  from  the  sky. 

Death. — Confucius  "  died  lamenting  that  the  edifice 
he  had  laboured  so  long  to  erect  was  crumbling  to  ruin." 
His  biographer  tells  us  that  early  one  morning  he  got  up, 


The  Books  and  the  Altar. 

and,  with  his  hands  behind  his  back,  dragging  his  staff, 
he  moved  about  the  door,  saying — 

"  The  great  mountain  must  crumble  ; 
The  strong  beam  must  break  ; 
And  the  wise  man  wither  away  like  a  plant.** 

He  called  his  disciples,  and,  referring  to  ancestral  wor- 
ship, said :  "  According  to  ancient  statues  the  corpse  was 
dressed,  treating  the  dead  as  if  he  were  still  the  host. 
Under  the    Yin    dynasty  the    ceremony  was    performed 

8 


1 1 4         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

between  the  two  pillars  of  the  main  hall,  as  if  the  dead 
were  both  host  and  guest.  I  am  a  man  of  Yin,  and  last 
night  I  dreamt  that  I  was  sitting  with  offerings  before 
me  between  the  two  pillars.  No  intelligent  monarch 
arises  ;  there  is  not  one  in  the  empire  that  will  make 
me  his  master.  My  time  has  come  to  die."  In  seven 
days  he  expired. 

"  Such  is  the  account  of  the  last  hours  of  the  great 
philosopher  of  China.  His  end  was  melancholy.  The 
rulers  had  not  received  his  teachings.  No  wife  or  child 
was  near.  Nor  were  the  expectations  of  another  life 
present  with  him  as  he  passed  through  the  dark  valley. 
He  uttered  no  prayer,  and  he  betrayed  no  apprehensions. 
Deep  treasured  in  his  own  heart  may  have  been  the 
thought  that  he  had  endeavoured  to  serve  his  generation, 
but  he  gave  no  sign."  As  Job  hath  said,  "  The  mountain 
falling  Cometh  to  naught,  and  the  rock  is  removed  out 
of  his  place." 


CHAPTEK    VIII. 


THE    CONFUCIAN   SACRIFICES. 


r  I  ^HOUGrH  while  he  lived  no  sovereign  received  him  as 
-L  a  counsellor,  accepted  him  as  a  legislator,  or  placed 
him  in  permanent  office,  yet  no  sooner  did  he  rest  in  his 
tomb  than  the  name  Confucius  was  sounded  through  the 
six  kingdoms.  Many  titles  were  conferred  by  emperors 
in  after  ages ;  "  Confucius,  the  ancient  teacher,  accom- 
plished and  illustrious,  all-complete,  the  perfect  sage.'' 
Afterwards  it  was  abbreviated,  "  Confucius,  the  ancient 
teacher,  the  perfect  sage."  Just  after  his  death  one  of 
the  kings  caused  a  temple  to  be  erected,  and  ordered  that 
sacrifices  should  be  offered  at  the  four  seasons  of  the 
year. 

The  Temple  and  the  Grave. — The  most  famous 
temple  in  the  empire  is  that  of  Confucius  in  his  native 
city  of  Kewfoo,  in  the  province  of  Shantung,  about  one 
hundred  miles  south  of  Chenanfoo.  Within  this  sacred 
enclosure  is  the  stump  of  the  old  tree  the  sage  planted 
with  his  own  hand,  the  well  from  which  he  drank,  and 
a  pavilion  on  the  spot  where  his  school-house  stood, 
where  were  educated  the  philosophers  of  China.  In 
front  is  a  grove  of  trees  with  the  library  building  and 
a   number  of  monumental   slabs.     By   the   side   is   the 


ii6        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


palace  of  the  duke  of  the  Confucian  clan,  and  within  are 
buildings,  one  of  which  contains  a  statue  of  Confucius' 
father  and  a  tablet  to  his  mother,  a  pavilion  with  the 
dragon  throne  on  which  the  Emperor  sits,  and  a  little 
room  containing  the  pictorial  life  of  the  sage,  engraved 
on  stone.     The  main  building  has  a  large  gilded  image  of 


Avenue  to  Grave  of  Confucius. 

Confucius,  and  near  him  the  images  of  his  twelve  most 
celebrated  disciples  (Mencius  is  here  as  one  of  the 
twelve),  and  a  little  more  remote  are  the  images  of  his 
two-and-seventy  disciples. 

The  grave  is  a  mile  from  the  city,  and  the  broad  paved 
avenue  has  rows  of  magnificent  trees  on  each  side.     The 


The  Confucian  Sacrifices. 


117 


cemetery  is  a  dense  oak  forest  of  a  mile  square,  surrounded 
by  a  city-like  wall,  and  contains  the  mortal  remains  of 
the  long  line  of  the  descendants  of  the  sage,  the  mounds 
to  the  dukes  being  larger  than  the  others.  There  is  a 
pavilion  or  tent  of  reflection  for  the  pilgrims  who  visit 
the  holy  tomb.     A  small  enclosure  contains  the  grave  of 


Grave  of  Confucius.  ' 

Confucius,  which  is  a  mound  twelve  feet  high  and  thirty 
in  diameter.  There  is  a  row  of  stone  men  and  stone 
lions  in  front  and  a  monument,  which  styles  him  ''  king;  " 
and  what  earthly  potentate  is  his  equal  ?  Near  the  grave 
is  a  pavilion  marking  the  spot  where  Tsze  Kung  mourned 
six  long  years,  for  after  his  decease  many  of  his  dis- 
ciples remained  to  weep. 


1 1 8         The  Dragon,  I  mage  ^  and  Demon. 

Kings  adore. — The  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty,  B.C. 
194,  visited  his  tomb  and  offered  an  ox  in  sacrifice,  and 
the  clothes  and  hat,  as  seen  in  the  picture,  being  still 
preserved,  were  placed  before  the  altar.  His  grave  is  the 
Mecca   of    China,   and    emperors    have    made    frequent 


Emperor  offering  Sacrifice. 


pilgrimages  to  the  spot.  K'anghe,  the  most  illustrious  of 
this  dynasty,  two  hundred  years  ago,  "  set  the  example 
of  kneeling  thrice,  and  bowing  his  forehead  in  the  dust 
before  the  image  of  the  sage."'  In  Peking  the  Emperor 
twice   a   year   repairs   to  the    capital    temple,    and  wor- 


The   Confucian  Sacrifices. 


ships  Confucius  just  as  he  does  Heaven.*  "The  worship 
is  performed  with  peculiar  solemnity.  At  the  Imperial 
College  the  Emperor  himself  is  required  to  attend  in 
state,"  and  conducts  the  services.  "  After  the  many  pre- 
liminary arrangements  have  been  made,  and  the  Emperor 
has  knelt  twice,  and  six  times  bowed  his  head  to  the  earth, 
the  presence  of  Confucius'  spirit  is  invoked."  It  is  not 
honour  given  to  a  sage,  it  is  homage  to  a  god.  Listen  to 
the  paean :  "  We  praise  thee,  0  Confucius,  surpassing  in 
thy  perfections,  profound  in  thy  knowledge,  able  to  com- 
prehend both  heaven  and  earth.  Thou  priest  of  universal 
nature,  whose  advent  was  heralded  by  a  unicorn,  we 
celebrate  upon  the  golden  lyre  thy  light  that  floods  the 
world ;  ...  we  come  to  offer  thee  perpetual  oblations,  oh ! 
thou  unequalled  by  any  being.  ...  oh  !  thou  most  holy 
one,  who,  being  in  accord  with  the  mind  of  the  gods, 
arouses  the  people  to  dut3\  .  .  .  From  thee  pioceeds  pro- 
found instruction  to  guide  our  feet  along  the  path.  Thou 
civiliser  of  the  populace,  thou  teacher  of  the  student, 
with  all  ceremony  we  worship  thee.  Most  great  one,  thy 
virtue  was  greater  than  a  thousand  saints,  thy  teachings 
better  than  a  hundred  kings.  Like  the  sun  and  moon 
they  enlighten  men.  We  would  venerate  thee,  0  founder 
of  learning.  Deign  to  be  present,  and  accept  the  frag- 
rance of  our  offerings,  which  with  grateful  strains  we 
present  in  token  of  our  sincere  admiration." 

His  Manhood. — In  the  tenth  book  of  the  Confucian 

*  A  remnant  of  high  antiquity  is  found  in  the  Peking  temple  ; 
ten  stone  drums  or  irregularly-shaped  pillars,  from  one  and  a  half 
to  three  feet  high,  and  two  feet  across,  commemorating  a  great 
hunt  B.C.  827. 


120         The  Dragon,  Image,  a7id  Denwn. 

Analects  his  disciples  describe  him  so  naturally,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  ascribe  the  supernatural  to  him.  The 
Chinese  look  upon  him  as  the  model  man,  the  perfect  sage. 
As  is  remarked,  "  No  character  in  history  is  less  mytho- 
logical than  Confucius.  He  is  no  demi-god,  whose 
biography  consists  chiefly  of  fable,  but  a  real  person. 
The  facts  of  his  life,  the  personal  aspect  of  the  man,  the 
places  where  he  lived,  the  petty  kings  under  whom  he 
served,  are  all  known."  Not  only  do  they  fail  in  ascribing 
the  supernatural  to  him,  but  the  people  make  a  distinc- 
tion between  holy  and  divine.  He  is  simply  holy,  with 
no  attribute  of  divinity.  Here,  then,  is  a  marvel  in 
Chinese  religion,  that  a  man,  merely  a  man,  and  nothing 
more,  is  worshipped  as  a  god. 

The  god  of  Office. — The  worship  of  the  Chinese  in 
all  its  departments  is  not  so  much  with  the  view  of 
adoring  the  deity  as  of  obtaining  personal  benefit.  Litera- 
ture is  the  basis  of  official  promotion,  and  they  rise  to 
office  by  a  system  of  competitive  examinations,  which  are 
attended  with  as  great  excitement  as  a  national  election  ; 
for  example,  when  23,000  enter  the  examination  hall  at 
Nanking,  and  140  receive  the  degree  of  A.M.,  they 
worship  Confucius  with  the  hope  of  getting  office,  which 
in  native  works  on  ethics  occupies  the  .  same  relative 
position  as  paradise  in  our  Bible.  Office  to  the  Chinese  is 
as  heaven  to  us.  The  man  who  bows  down  before  the 
tablet  of  tlie  sage  has  one  thought  for  Confucius  and  two 
for  liimself.  When  the  degrees  of  A.B.,  A.M.,  or  LL.D. 
are  conferred  the  recipients  go  in  state  to  the  Confucian 
temple,  bow  the  knee,  and  prostrate  the  body  in  token  of 
the  distinction  they  receive.  


The  Confucian  Sacrifices.  12 


Literary  Temples— In  the  empire  there  are  1,560 
Confucian  temples,  one  for  each  province,  department, 
and  county.  The  provincial  temple  in  Soochow  is  in  a 
small  park  one-third  of  a  mile  in  length  ;  in  front  is  a 
grove  of  small  cedars,  and  the  grounds  are  ornamented 
by  numbers  of  stone  monuments  firmly  fixed  in  the 
backs  of  tortoises  ;  then  there  are  large  halls  with  astro- 
nomical diagrams,  and  a  map  of  the  city  on  stone  a 
thousand  years  old,  and  also  side-rooms  for  the  tablets 
of  the  500  sages.  The  main  hall  is  fifty  by  seventy 
feet,  the  massive  roof  supported  by  wooden  posts.  The 
temples  of  the  Shantung  province  have  large  images  of 
the  sage,  with  the  shrine  and  paraphernalia  of  the  Budd- 
hists, but  here  there  is  the  simple  tablet  which  reads, 
"  Most  Holy  First  Teacher,  Confucius'  spirit  tablet.*' 
The  visitor,  hearing  the  buzz  of  wings  and  chirp  of  voices 
overhead,  notes  the  thousands  of  swallows  which  here 
homeward  fly,  and  takes  care  to  stand  just  without  the 
sacred  portals ;  so  superstitious  are  the  scholars,  that 
they  will  not  suffer  one  of  these  living  birds  to  be  driven 
away,  lest  it  be  ominous  of  evil,  and  they  speak  of  them 
as  "  the  ten  thousand  happinesses  come  to  court."  The 
premises,  the  finest  in  the  city,  are  overgrown  with 
thistles  and  weeds,  and  are  never  put  in  order  save  at  the 
vernal  and  autumnal  sacrifices. 

The  Sacrifice.— On  the  day  preceding  the  sacrifice,  in 
an  adjoining  temple,  several  thousand  satin-robed  scholars 
go  in  and  bow  before  the  sage's  tablet  ;  the  music  on  the 
long  guitars  and  instruments  of  steel  is  of  the  softest 
kind,  and  in  front  is  the  company  of  dancers,  flag-bearers, 
and  posture-makers  with  their  bodies  bending  to  the  right 


122         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


and  left.  As  I  stood  for  a  couple  of  hours  watching  them 
one  bj  one  making  prostrations  before  the  resting-place 
of  the  philosopher's  soul,  many  near  me  said,  "  Foreign 
teacher,  you  worship  Jesus  ;  this  is  the  way  we  worship 
Confucius." 

The  great  sacrifice  is  in  the  fifth  watch  of  the  night. 


Sacrifice  to  Confucius. 

One  ox,  twenty-two  sheep,  and  twenty-two  pigs  are  slain, 
and  placed,  skinned  and  whole,  on  the  altar,  and  are 
afterwards  taken  to  the  yamens  and  eaten  by  the 
mandarins  ;  a  great  tent  is  spread  above  the  stone  dais 
in  front  of  the  temple,  when  the  Governor-Greneral,  with 
a  thousand  attendant  mandarins  and  scholars,  arrives  in 


The  Confucian   Sacrifices.  123 


state,  and,  as  the  chief  priest  of  the  literati,  who  are 
divided  according  to  rank,  to  chant,  to  respond,  to  bear  flags, 
to  make  postures,  and  to  sing  the  doxology,  he  conducts 
the  worship  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Book  of  Kites ; 
and  at  the  call  of  the  master  of  ceremonies,  with  pomp 
and  parade  they  present  a  feast  and  pour  out  libations, 
the  grounds  being  brilliantly  lighted,  and  the  lamps 
making  radiant  the  richly-dressed  congregation  of 
provincial  magnates.  A  grand  chorus  then  joins  in 
singing  the  soul-stirring  doxology — 

"  Confucius,  Confucius  !     How  great  is  Confucius  ! 
Before  Confucius  there  never  was  a  Confucius  ; 
Since  Confucius  there  never  has  been  a  Confucius  ; 
Confucius,  Confucius  !     How  great  is  Confucius  !  " 

In  the  Middle  Kingdom  every  year  66,000  animals 
are  offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  ancient  sage.  Listen  to  the 
Emperor  invoking  the  spirit  of  Confucius  !  "  Great  art 
thou,  0  perfect  sage  !  Thy  virtue  is  full ;  thy  doctrine 
is  complete.  Among  mortal  men  there  has  not  been 
thine  equal.  All  kings  honour  thee.  Thy  statutes  and 
laws  have  come  gloriously  down.  Thou  art  the  pattern 
in  this  Imperial  school.  Keverently  have  the  sacrificial 
vessels  been  set  out.  Full  of  awe  we  sound  our  diums 
and  bells.''  The  spirit  is  supposed  to  be  present,  and  the 
p]mperor  offers  the  prayer :  "  I,  the  Emperor,  ofi'er  a 
sacrifice  to  the  philosopher  Confucius,  the  ancient  teacher, 
the  perfect  sage,  and  say,  0  Teacher,  in  virtue  equal  to 
Heaven  and  earth,  whose  doctrines  embrace  the  past  time 
and  the  present ....  in  reverent  observance  of  the  old 
statutes,  with  victims,  silks,  spirits,  and  fruits,  I  carefully 


124         ^/^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


ofifer  sacrifice  to  thee.     May'st  thou  enjoy  the  sacrifice." 
Could  the  homage  of  a  nation  be  more  complete  ? 

The  School.— When  a  boy  enters  school  he  prostrates 
himself  before  the  tablet  of  Confucius.  On  the  1st  and 
1.3th  of  every  month  little  boys  are  seen  going  along  the 
streets  with  a  roll  of  books  in  one  hand,  and  candles  and 
incense  in  the  other.     ''  Little  boy,  where  are  you  going 


bchool-boy  worshipping  Confucius. 

to  ?  "  "I  am  going  to  school."  ''  What  are  you  going 
to  do  with  the  candles  and  incense?"  "Worship  Con- 
fucius, the  Holy  Man."  And  so  in  every  schoolroom  by 
every  one,  who,  as  they  say,  "  reads  books,"  the  sage  is 
adored  precisely  as  they  do  the  temple  images.     This  is 


The   Coufuciaii  Sacrifices.  125 

a  fearful  aspect  of  Confucianism,  that  from  earliest 
childhood  boys  are  taught  that  success  in  letters  depends 
on  serving,  worshipping,  and  glorifying  Confucius. 

His  Rank  in  the  Pantheon. — It  has  been  said,  "  If 
the  Chinese  pay  divine  honours  to  any  being  in  heaven, 
or  on  earth,  or  under  the  earth,  it  is  to  Confucius.  To 
him  they  offer  prayers  and  sacrifices,  and  him  they  wor- 
ship and  adore." 

The  chief  god  of  the  Indian  religion  is  Buddha  ;  of 
Chinese  Taoism,  the  Pearly  Emperor ;  of  the  Church  of 
the  learned,  Confucius.  Comparing  the  influence  of  the 
three,  though  the  people  consider  the  first  two  as  having 
more  power  in  the  unseen  world,  yet  the  head  of  the 
literary  Church,  in  the  respect  of  the  nation,  and  in  the 
honours  bestowed  by  the  scholars,  is  beyond  all  question 
the  chief  god  of  China. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CONFUCIAN     GODS. 


The  god  of  Literature. — Wenchang,  the  god  of  lite- 
rature, is  one  of  the  leading  deities  of  China.  A  con- 
stellation, known  as  part  of  the  Ursa  Major,  is  called  by 


Wenchang. 

this  name,  and  by  some  the  god  of  literature  is  con- 
sidered as  the  ruler  of  this  group  of  six  stars ;  by  other 
authorities  he  is  considered  as  another  god  altogether. 
The  wheel  of  transmigration  turned  seventeen  times  the 


Confucian  Gods. 


127 


fate  of  Wenchang.  His  most  distinguished  metempsy- 
chosis was  as  a  snake  which  revenged  the  wrongs  done 
to  his  ancestors.  He  then  met  with  Buddha,  who  forgave 
his  sins,  allowed  him  to  throw  ofif  the  serpent's  coil,  and 
return  as  a  man.  He  is  one  of  a  triad  with  Confucius  and 
the  god  of  war.  It  is  said  that  Wenchang  prevents  the 
vicious,  even  though  learned,  from  obtaining  academic 
degrees. 

Behind  \Venchang 
there  stands  an  old  man 
clothed  in  red,  who  nods 
his  head  if  the  essay  is 
worthy  of  passing.  It  is 
said  the  god's  opinion 
does  not  pass  as  law  un- 
less he  has  the  assent  of 
the  old  man  in  red. 

Wenchang's  special 
attendants  are  two  boys, 
named  Heaven-Deaf  and 
Earth-  Dumb.  In  the 
book  of  literary  decrees 
the  names  of  successful 
candidates  are  written,  and  these  two  boys.  Deaf  and 
Dumb,  cannot  divulge  the  secret. 

The  Star  of  Literature. — Kwei-sing,  the  star  of 
literature,  holds  in  his  right  hand  a  pen,  and  in  his  left 
a  peck  measure.  He  takes  a  more  active  part  in  the  com- 
petitive examinations  than  does  Wenchang;  so  literary 
men,  before  going  to  the  examination  hall,  invariably 
offer  sacrifice  to  the  star  of  literature. 


Kwei-sing. 


128         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


The  god  of  War. — Kwante,  the  god  of  war,  is  the 
head  of  the  miUtary,  as  Confucius  is  of  the  gentry.  He 
was  a  general  who  figured  in  the  time  of  the  Three  King- 
doms, just  after  the  commencement  of  our  Christian  era, 
and  his  bloody  sword  won  for  him  the  unenviable  position 

of  god  of  the  battle-field. 
He  is  one  of  the  most 
popular     gods     in     the 

\™,,  Chinese    pantheon,    and 

1  during    this    generation 

"  his    fame    has   been   in- 

creasing. In  1856  he 
appeared  in  the  heavens, 
as  Castor  and  Pollux  did 
to  the  Eomans,  and  suc- 
cessfully turned  the  tide 
of  battle  in  favour  of  the 
Imperialists,  for  which 
the  Emperor  raised  him 
to  the  rank  of  Confucius. 
There  are  1,600  State 
temples  at  which  the 
mandarins  worship  twice 
a     month,    besides     the 

thousands    of    smaller 
God  of  War. 

temples,  where  sacrifices 

of  sheep  and  oxen  are  offered  to  him.  In  every  camp,  in 
every  tent,  in  every  officer's  room,  there  hangs  the  large 
portrait  of  the  Chinese  Mars.  His  worship  is  not  confined 
to  the  officials  and  the  army,  for  many  trades  and  pro- 
fessions have  selected   him  as  a   patron   saint,  and   few 


Confucian  Gods. 


129 


pictures  are  so  familiar,  as  one  looks  into  the  homes  of 
the  people,  as  that  of  the  god  of  war.  The  executioner's 
knife  is  kept  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  his  temple, 
and  when  the  mandarin  who  superintends  the  decapita- 
tion returns  from  the  execution  ground,  he  stops  here  to 
worship,  for  fear  some  ghost  of  the  criminal  may  follow 


Three  Primordial  Sovereisrns. 


him.  He  knows  the  spirit  would  not  dare  to  go  into 
Kwante's  presence,  so  he  takes  this  means  of  getting  rid 
of  his  invisible  attendant. 

Three  Primordial  Sovereigns — After  the  time  of 
Pankoo  there  were  three  kings,  whose  united  reigns 
aggregated  18,000  years.  The  people  constantly  speak 
of  the  King  of  Heaven,  the  King  of  Earth,  and  the  King 

9 


130         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


of  Men;  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man  forming,  in  their 
esteem,  a  kind  of  trinity. 

The  Five  Planetary  -  gods. — The  Grreen  Ruler, 
corresponding  with  Jupiter ;  the  Red  Ruler,  correspond- 
ing with  Mars  ;  the  Yellow  Ruler,  corresponding  with 
Saturn;  the  White  Ruler,  corresponding  with  Venus; 
and  the  Black  Ruler,  corresponding  with  Mercury. 

The  Five  Emperors. — In  the  legendary  period  the 
Chinese  speak  of  their  five  emperors,  all  of  whom,  save 


Household.  Gods. 

Yao  and  Shun,  Confucius  rejected  as  being  unauthentic. 
(1)  Fuhhe.  (2)  Shinnung,  the  divine  Husbandman,  who 
taught  agriculture  to  the  nation.  (3)  Hienyuen,  who 
taught  medicine,  and  who  also  first  taught  the  art  of 
dress.     f4)  Yao.     (5)  Shun.     These  are  all  worshipped. 

Penates,  or  Household  gods. — In  every  house, 
except  the  hovels  of  the  poor,  just  within  the  gateway 
or  first  entrance-room,  and  opposite  the  front  door,  high 
up  are  three  pigeon-holes,  where  reside  the  family  gods. 
In  the  middle  one,  on  the  tablet,  are  the  words,  *'  Heaven, 


Confucian  Gods. 


Earth,     Euler,     Parent,     and    Teacher;"    on    the     left, 
inscribed  on  the  tablet,  "  We  burn  incense  to  the  holy 
multitude  of  family  gods ;  "  on  the  right  are  the  ancestral 
tablets,  placed  in  order  of  rank,  the  oldest  in  the  rear. 
Door    gods. — In   front   of  the   yamens   and   temples 


Door  Gods. 

on  the  doors  are  painted  two  giant  pictures  of  the  door 
gods ;  they  were  ministers  of  state  in  the  Tang  dynasty, 
by  the  name  of  Wei  Tsukung  and  Ching  Sohpao. 

God  of  Agriculture. — ]\Iangtseang  lived  about  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  is  popularly  believed  to  be  able 
to   keep  away  the   plague    of  grasshoppers.     He    was   a 


132         The  Dragon,  hnage,  and  DeiJion. 

beardless  young  man,  and  exceedingly  fond  of  children. 
The  mandarins  worship  him,  his  temple  is  found  in 
every  hamlet,  theatricals  in  his  honour  are  quite 
renowned,  and  his  processions  go  to  every  village.  His 
birthday  is  on  the  13th  of  the  1st  Moon,  and  during 
the  following  week  a  long  table  is  placed  before  his 
youthful  majesty,  spread  with  various  kinds  of  food, 
fruits,  and  artificial  flowers;  and  a  retinue  of  angels 
bow  towards  him. 


God  of  Agriculture. 

He  is  also  worshipped  by  the  coolies ;  they  say, 
"Mangtseang  went  barefoot,  and  so  do  we  (with  only 
straw  sandals j ;  so  we  worship  him."  He  is  one  of  the 
chief  gods  of  the  nation. 

Gods  of  the  Tides.— These  two  gods  were  Wuyuin, 
of  the  kingdom  of  Wu,  whose  capital  was  Soochow,  and 
Wenchung,  of  the  kingdom  of  Yuih,  whose  capital  was 
Hangchow ;  they  were  enemies  during  life,  but  now 
exercise  joint   sovereignty    over   the   tides;    perhaps   to 


Confucian  Gods, 


^ZZ 


account  for  the  ebb   and  flow  the  Chinese   regard    it  as 
necessary  to  have  two  opposing  gods. 

The  Golden-dragon  King. — There  are  four  of  these 
gods  and  four  ministers,  but  the  people  along  the  Yellow 
River  recognise  which  one  it  is.  They  appear  as  snakes 
with  square  heads  and  with  horns;  and  when  the  "river 
king  "  comes  floating  on  the  flood  of  turbid  waters,  when 


Tidal-god. 

there  is  a  freshet  on  the  Yellow  River,  "  China's  sorrow," 
he  is  hailed  with  delight,  as  immediately  the  "waters 
assuage."  The  governor  of  the  river  receives  the  divine 
snake  in  a  lacquer  waiter,  carries  him  in  his  sedan  to  the 
temple,  and  the  mandarins  all  worship  the  heaven-sent 
messenger.  This  "  golden-dragon  king,"  who  comes  as  a 
serpent,  is  very  fond  of  theatricals,  so  the  best  actors 
are  invited,  a  programme  is  placed  before  him,  and  he 
nods  towards  the  play  he  wishes  performed.     After  some 


T34         ^^^^  Di^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

days  the  coiling  god  takes  his  departure,  and  the  governor 
of  the  Yellow  Eiver  memorialises  the  throne  to  assign 
him  rank  and  erect  a  tablet.  These  memorials  appear 
in  the  Peking  Gazette;  one  was  sent  up  by  an  official, 
now  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  this  province,  and 
another  it  is  said,  a  few  years  ago,  was  sent  to  the 
Emperor  by  the  "  Bismarck  of  China."  Mandarins  who 
do  not  countenance  idolatry,  when  they  are  appointed 
to  the  control  of  the  Yellow  River,  are  thoroughly 
satisfied  with  the   divinity  of  this  snake. 

The  Five  Dragons. — The  dragon  of  the  east  is  called 


Ciul den-dragon  King. 


Jao-Kwang  ;  of  the  south,  Jao-Chwen  ;  of  the  west,  Jao- 
Ming ;  of  the  north,  Jao-Kyih  ;  and  of  the  middle,  Jao- 
Ping.  The  governor  worships  twice  a  year  and  the 
prefect  twice  a  month.  In  times  of  drought  these  dragons 
are  worshipped,  and  in  front  of  the  temples  there  is  a  pond 
from  which  they  draw  rain.  In  the  inner  temple  there  is 
an  image  of  Mrs.  Dragon. 

Temple  of  Worthies. — In  this  city  there  is  a  temple 
— it  is  only  a  specimen  of  what  is  found  elsewhere — 
which  contains  several  hundred  tablets  of  mandarins 
who  have  been  the  benefactors  of  their  race,  and  of  the 


Confucian  Gods.  135 

widows   of  mandarins,    to   whom    regular    sacrifices   are 
offered  by  the  highest  officials. 

God  of  the  Classics — He  was  named  Chen  Kongchen, 
and  flourished  in  the  Han  dynasty,  and  was  able  satis- 
factorily to  expound  the  most  intricate  passages  in  the 
Classics.  He  adopted  the  civil  measure  of  punishing  the 
misdemeanours  of  his  handmaids,  by  requiring  them  to 
memorise  the  words  of  Confucius,  so  his  Ahmahs  became 
classical  scholars. 

The  god  of  Writing. — Ts^ang  Hieh  "  was  reputed  as 
the  inventor  of  the  art  of  writing  in  the  mythical  period 
of  antiquity.  He  is  said  to  have  elaborated  the  art  of  form- 
ing written  characters  by  imitating  the  footprints  of  birds." 

The  Written  Character. — The  reverence  for  the 
written  character,  though  highly  commendable  as  a  part 
of  the  national  devotion  to  learning,  is  carried  too  far, 
and  becomes  a  very  specious  kind  of  idolatry ;  for  printed 
paper  is  sacred,  the  sin  first  mentioned  is  its  mie^use,  and 
its  preservation  the  first  among  meritorious  actions.  INlen 
with  two  mammoth  baskets  suspended  from  the  ends  of 
a  pole  across  the  shoulder  go  along  the  streets,  tear  down 
placards,  empty  waste-paper  baskets,  gather  up  every 
scrap  of  written  paper,  take  it  to  their  employers,  who  pay 
sixty  cents  per  hundredweight,  carry  it  to  the  "  Pity  Cha- 
racter "  furnace  and  burn  it.  The  ashes  are  sent  to  the  port 
and  carried  out  to  sea,  to  be  thrown  overboard  in  a  storm, 
so  as  to  cause  the  waves  to  be  stilled.  These  furnaces 
or  altars  are  often  connected  with  temples,  and  large  sums 
of  money  are  thus  expended.  It  is  considered  an  offering 
to  letters,  to  Confucius,  and  to  the  god  of  literature. 
Mencius. — In  considering  the  character  of  this  great 


136         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

philosopher,  the  question  arises,  How  can  a  man  become  a 
god  in  China  ?  I  answer.  By  the  erection  of  a  temple  and 
the  offering  of  sacrifices.  The  only  temple  Mencius  has 
is  near  his  grave  in  the  province  of  Shantung,  where  sheep 
and  pigs,  by  Imperial  order,  are  placed  on  the  altar,  but 
he  is  not  deified  in  the  estimation  of  the  people.  His 
descendants  of  the  seventieth  and  seventy-second  genera- 


Mencius. 


tions  are  now  living.  He  was  born  B.C.  371,  and  died  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  a  contemporary  of  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Zeno,  Epicurus,  and  Demosthenes. 

*'  The  mother  of  Mencius  "  is  perhaps  the  most  cele- 
brated woman  in  Chinese  annals.  As  a  widow,  she  chose 
her  residence  near  a  school,  and  said,  "  This  is  the  proper 
place  for  my  son."     Finding  that  he  was  neglecting  his 


Confucian  Gods.  137 

lessons  she  took  a  knife  and  cut  through  the  web  she  was 
weaving,  and  when  he,  astonished,  asked  the  reason,  she 
told  him  "that  her  cutting  through  the  web  was  like  his 
neglecting  his  lessons."  The  maternal  admonition  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  future  greatness.  In  after  years,  wishing 
to  leave  the  kingdom  of  Tse  because  his  doctrines  were 
not  practised,  he  said  to  his  mother,  "  I  wish  to  leave  my 
position  and  salary,  but  I  think  of  your  old  age,  and  am 
anxious."  She  replied,  "  You  are  a  man  in  your  full 
maturity,  and  I  am  old.  Do  you  act  as  your  conviction 
of  righteousness  tells  you  you  ought  to  do  ?  Why  should 
you  be  anxious  about  me  ?  " 

The  writings  of  Mencius  form  one  of  the  "  Four  Books," 
and  are  memorised  by  all  school  boys ;  the  study  of  most 
of  the  contents  is  like  "  chewing  dry  corn  stalks,"  but 
passages  in  his  works  are  the  brightest,  most  inspiring 
discussions  to  be  found  in  Chinese  literature.  Con- 
fucius was  a  plain,  practical  philosopher,  who  spoke  of 
duty,  while  Mencius  was  metaphysical,  and  reasoned  about 
man's  nature.  The  honour  conferred  on  Mencius  is  not 
one  ten-thousandth  of  what  the  sage  receives,  and  he  is 
spoken  of  as  "A  number  two  saint." 

He  was  in  his  day  "  a  great  professor  of  morals  and 
learning,  who  taught  the  principles  of  virtue  and  society." 
He  says,  "  The  way  of  truth  is  like  a  great  road.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  know  it.  The  evil  is  that  men  will  not 
seek  it.  Do  you  go  home  and  search  for  it,  and  you  will 
have  abundance  of  teachers."  Much  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  the  palaces  of  kings,  but  Mencius  bore  himself 
"  loftily,"  as  if  a  royal  teacher. 

Under  a  despotic  government  he  was  a  bold  and  brave 


138         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

man  to  raise  the  standard  of  liberty,  and  exclaim,  "  The 
people  are  the  most  important  element  in  a  nation,  and 
the  sovereign  is  the  lightest."  His  two  principal  elements 
in  a  successful  rule  are,  "  to  make  the  people  prosperous, 
and  to  educate  them."  In  urging  the  necessity  of 
educated  officials,  he  says,  "  Some  men  labour  with  their 
minds  and  some  with  their  strength.  Those  who  labour 
with  their  minds  govern  others,  those  who  labour  with 
their  strength  are  governed  by  others." 

Mencius'  celebrated  teachings  about  human  nature  are 
discussed  in  Chapter  II. 

Perhaps  the  nearest  approach  of  a  pagan  philosopher 
to  the  simplicity  of  Christianity  is  where  he  says,  "  The 
great  man  is  he  who  does  not  lose  his  child's  heart," 
reminding  one  of  "  Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as 
little  children  ; ''  the  difference  being,  "  Christ  speaks  of 
the  child's  heart  as  a  thing  to  be  regained ;  Mencius 
speaks  of  it  as  a  thing  not  to  be  lost." 

The  Disciples  of  Confucius. — -The  tablets  of  the  five 
hundred  disciples  are  in  the  Confucian  temples,  and  have 
sticks  of  incense  burning  before  them.  Scattered  through- 
out the  empire  are  temples  erected  near  the  homes  of 
those  students  who  sat  at  the  master's  feet,  and  thither 
the  local  governors  repair,  offering  sheep,  pigs,  and  oxen 
in  sacrifice.  If  the  men  who  were  styled  "  Jupiter  "  and 
"  Mercurius  "  at  Lystra  rent  their  clothes  when  the  people 
cried  out,  "  The  gods  are  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness 
of  men,"  and  the  priest  "  brought  oxen  and  garlands  unto 
the  gates,  and  would  have  done  sacrifice  with  the  people," 
surely  these  temples  and  animal  sacrifices  are  not  simply 
funereal,  but  are  also  idolatrous. 


Conftician  Gods.  \  39 


The  Eight  gods. — In  ancient  times  the  Emperor 
sacrificed  to  the  "  eight  gods."  (1)  The  Lord  of  Heaven. 
(2)  The  Lord  of  Earth.  (3)  The  Lord  of  War.  (4)  The 
Lord  of  the  Male  Principle  of  Nature.  (5)  The  Lord  of 
the  Female  Principle  of  Nature.  (6)  The  Lord  of  the 
Sun.  (7)  The  Lord  of  the  Moon.  (8)  The  Lord  of  the 
Four  Seasons  of  the  Year. 

The  Divine  Husbandman. — "  This  title  was  attri- 
buted to  Shin  Nung,  the  successor  of  the  great  Fuhhe, 
B.C.  2737."  ''  He  first  fashioned  timber  into  ploughs, 
and  taught  the  people  the  art  of  husbandry.  He  dis- 
covered the  curative  virtues  of  plants,  and  instituted  the 
practice  of  holding  markets  for  the  exchange  of  com- 
modities." 

Spirits  of  the  Land  and  Grain. — "  The  deified  being 
Kow  Lung  is  the  universal  tutelary  genius  of  the  land," 
and  with  him  is  associated  Kih  Yien,  and  these  two  ''  are 
the  chief  presiding  influences  governing  the  well-being 
of  the  empire."  These  are  worshipped  with  sacrifices  by 
the  highest  officials  on  the  open  altars,  "in  the  first 
month  of  spring,  in  conformity  with  traditions  of  the 
highest  antiquity." 

Gods  of  the  Precincts. — Each  of  the  sixteen  hundred 
counties  in  the  empire  is  divided  into  a  number  of  dis- 
tricts corresponding  to  the  wards  in  a  city  or  the 
precincts  in  the  country,  and  each  of  these  neighbour- 
hoods has  its  own  special  protecting  god,  besides 
innumerable  sub-divisions  of  territory,  so  that  there  are 
many  hundred  thousand,  if  not  one  or  two  millions,  of 
these  f'u-dee  or  local  gods.  Generals,  statesmen,  crown- 
princes    dying    in     boyhood,    mandarins,    doctors,     and 


140         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

benevolent  men  are  the  tutelary  deities  of  the  precincts 
and  wards,  and  are  constantly  worshipped. 

The  god-constables. — Among  the  class  mentioned 
above,  within  every  yamen,  there  is  a  temple  to  the 
fu-dee  or  constable  of  the  district,  who  acts  as  chief  of 
police  for  all  the  official  secretaries  and  runners.  If 
anything  goes  wrong  in  the  precinct  or  ward,  a  theft  or 


Granaiy  King. 


a  riot,  the  mandarin  bamboos  the  constable,  the  protector 
of  the  public  peace ;  so  if  in  Tartarus  the  spirits  get 
into  a  row,  the  god-constable  must  answer  for  it,  and  the 
city-god  of  Hades  may  have  him  beaten  with  one  hundred 
or  six  hundred  strokes,  as  his  divinity  thinks  proper. 

The     Prison-god.     In  the  Han  dynasty  the  Emperor 
directed  Siao-Wu  to  revise  the  criminal  statutes,  and  at 


Confucian  Gods, 


141 


death  he  was  made  god  of  the  gaol,  by  the  name  of  Siao 
Wang.  He  is  worshipped  by  the  Board  of  Punishments, 
the  criminal  judges,  the  gaolers,  and  the  prisoners.  The 
latter  hope  that  the  gaol-god  will  keep  their  guilty  con- 
sciences at  ease,  and  may  open  a  way  to  escape.  Before 
execution  criminals  are  dragged  into  his  presence  as  they 
are  taken  from  prison,  and  made  to  bow  to  the  gaoler  of 
Tartarus. 

God  of  the  City  Wall. 
—  Called  "  The  Eighth 
Minister."  He  rules  the 
city  wall,  and  directs  the 
military  operations  in  case 
of  a  siege ;  he  is  worshipped 
by  the  Board  of  Public 
Works. 

The  Guardian  Tem- 
ples.— There  is  always  a 
chief  guardian  of  the  heir- 
apparent  called  the  T'ai 
Fao  ;  his  temples  are 
numerous  throughout  the 
land,  and  the  highest  man- 
darins offer  sacrifice.  The  T'ai  Pao  is  now  considered 
an  official  title.  The  Soochow  temple  is  in  honour  of 
a  crown  prince  of  the  Chow  dynasty,  who,  disowned 
by  his  father,  fled  to  this  city  ;  his  temple  was  rebuilt  a 
few  years  since  by  Goo  Wu. 

The  Granary  King. — His  image  is  a  large  one,  and 
he  has  three  eyes.  He  is  worshipped  by  the  landed 
gentry  about  the  time  they    collect   their    "rent   rice." 


Eighth  Great  King. 


142         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Every    granary,    or    storehouse,    has   a    tablet    of    this 
deity. 

The  Eighth  Great  King. — The  Manchus  have  a 
special  mandarin  to  attend  to  their  lawsuits,  and  "  The 
Eighth  Great  King "  is  his  counterpart  in  the  other 
world.  He  was  the  "  Eighth  Prince,"  an  uncle  of  the 
last  of  the  Ming  Emperors,  and  cast  in  his  allegiance 
with  the  new  Manchu  ruler.  He  advised  the  Soochow 
people  to  submit;  they,  however,  stoned  him  to  death, 
and  sunk  his  boat. 


CHAPTER  X. 

BUDDHA,    THE   NIGHT   OF   ASIA. 

O  HAKYAMUNI  GAUTAMA  BUDDHA,  the  founder  of 
^^  the  religion  that  bears  his  name,  of  royal  descent, 
was  born  probably  about  624  B.C.,  in  Kapilavastu,  a  city 
to  the  north  of  Benares,  the  headquarters  of  the  Buddhist 
faith  in  India.  This  was  not  his  first  appearance  upon  the 
earth,  for  it  is  said  five  hundred  and  fifty  times  had  he  come 
as  vegetable,  animal,  or  man,  till  now  he  appears  a  Buddha. 
Very  convenient  it  is  for  the  historians  of  this  faith  to 
locate  their  characters  several  million  years  ago,  as  thus 
critics  have  not  the  opportunity  of  examining  the 
authenticity  of  the  narrative.  In  this  present  kalpa 
there  have  been  seven  Buddhas,  all  fictitious,  one  of 
whom,  Janteng,  the  Lamp-light  Buddha,  was  the  cele- 
brated preceptor  of  our  hero  in  a  previous  existence. 

If  name  gives  fame  he  was  fortunate.  His  princely 
name  was  Siddartha,  "  All-prospering  ;  "  Buddha  means 
"  The  Awakener,"  and  was  his  official  title ;  Gautama  was 
the  sacerdotal  appellation  of  his  clan  ;  among  the  Celes- 
tials he  is  known  as  Shakyamuni,  "  the  sage  of  the 
Shakya  tribe,"  or,  from  its  significance,  Shakya,  "  the 
lion," — as  the  lion  is  king  of  the  forest,  so  by  his  moral 
pre-eminence  Buddha  rules  among  men. 


144        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

The  Buddhistic  legends  of  this  wonderful  person  are 
full  of  romance,  and  the  outlines  of  the  portrait,  as  seen 
by  the  Chinese,  here  presented,  are  mostly  taken  from  his 
*'  Pictorial  Life  "  in  four  volumes,  published  in  Hangchow. 
The  legends  from  the  Indian  Ocean  deal  more  in  the 
marvellous  than  the  story  as  told  in  this  biography. 
Kind  reader,  do  not  ask  "  Is  this  authentic  ? " 

Ancestry. — Of  his  remote  ancestry  we  have  some 
information.  A  teacher  of  one  of  the  ancient  Buddhas 
took  two  lumps  of  clay  mixed  with  blood,  and  put  them 
in  jars,  trusting  to  a  vow  that  they  would  become  men. 
After  ten  months  there  emerged  from  these  jars  two 
human  beings,  one  a  man  and  the  other  a  woman,  who 
became  the  rulers  of  India,  and  the  ancestors  of  a  line 
of  rajas,  one  of  whom  begat  four  sons  ;  the  eldest  was 
Suddhodana,  the  father  of  Shakyamuni.  As  Buddha  was 
to  appear  among  men,  at  the  arrival  of  the  due  time 
he  sought  the  most  prosperous  kingdom  and  the  family 
under  the  luckiest  star.  He  considered  the  merits  of 
several  countries,  and  found  that  they  lacked  in  one  par- 
ticular or  another  of  being  the  "  model  state  ;  "  but,  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Devas  "  going  through  the  court 
almanac  of  Indian  princes  and  princesses,"  at  last  selected 
Kapilavastu,  seated  in  the  very  centre  of  the  earth,  and 
King  Suddhodana  and  his  bride  as  the  elect  parents. 

His  Birth. — In  a  dream  Queen  Maya  sees  the  heavenly 
Buddha  riding  upon  a  white  elephant  with  six  tusks,  and 
entering  her  right  side  her  body  became  transparent  as 
glass.  The  seer  gave  an  answer  to  the  inquiring  king 
that  a  sage  was  to  be  born  who  should  glorify  the  Indian 
faith.     Heaven  supplied  Maya  with  food.     In  the  palace 


Buddha y  the  Night  of  Asia.  145 

garden,  under  a  Palasa  tree,  which  bent  down  its  branches 
around  Her  Majesty,  was  the  young  prince  born,  a 
Buddha, — not  as  a  man,  for  out  of  the  side  came  he 
forth,  the  four  regents  of  the  skies  presenting  him  to  his 
happy  mother.  A  light  illumined  the  heavens,  a  rainbow 
stretched  athwart  the  sky,  a  multitude  in  the  air  sang, 


Buddha. 

there  was  a  shower  of  roses,  and  nine  dragons  spouted 
water,  for  him  to  bathe  in  fountains  both  cold  and  hot. 
The  babe  walked  seven  steps  to  the  four  points  of  the 
compass,  and  with  an  expressive  wave  of  his  tiny  hand 
said,  "  Above  heaven  and  under  heaven,  I  alone  am 
great." 

10 


146         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

When  the  tidings  reached  the  palace  the  king 
thought,  What  carriage  is  suitable  to  bring  him  in  ?  A 
chariot  is  sent  from  Heaven,  and  the  gods  walk  with  men, 
and  push  it  along  in  the  triumphal  procession,  while 
maidens  from  Mount  Sumaru  went  before  with  singing. 
The  aged  Asita  comes  in,  takes  the  babe  in  his  arms, 
points  out  his  thirty-two  marks  and  eighty  symbols,  the 
tattoo  of  the  Devas,  the  signs  of  destiny,  foretells  his 
future  as  a  teacher,  and  weeps  because  at  fourscore  he 
could  not  see  the  mighty  things  about  to  come  to  pass. 
Suddhodana  ordered  a  release  of 
criminals,  the  liberation  of  animals, 
and  3,200  priests  to  chant  prayers. 
Princes  and  nobles,  merchants  and 
peasants  rejoiced,  and  the  brute 
creation  show^ed  their  joy ;  it  is  re- 
corded that  at  that  time  cows  gave 
ten  quarts  of  milk. 

His  Boyhood.  —  The  young 
The  Infant  Buddha.  mother  left  him  an  orphan  of  seven 
days.  His  aunt  tenderly  cared  for 
him  with  thirty -two  nurses,  eight  to  carry  him,  eight  to 
bathe,  eight  to  feed,  and  eight  to  play  with  him.  He 
grew  in  stature  day  by  day,  as  the  moon  increases  night  by 
night  from  the  crescent  to  the  full  orb.  One  day,  carried 
in  the  arms  to  the  temple,  the  idols  rise  and  bow  to  him, 
owning  his  sovereignty,  the  worshipped  taking  their  place 
as  worshippers.  During  eight  years  he  played  in  the 
palace  garden  ;  it  is  said  that  his  dear  aunt  made  him 
a  golden  saddle  to  ride  a  goat.  Of  his  differing  from 
other  children   it  is  recorded    that  he  did  not  cry,  nor 


Btiddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  147 


frown,  nor  pout,  that  he  kept  his  clothes  unsoiled,  and 
his  nose  clean. 

The  king  chose  the  most  renowned  teacher  the  realm 
afforded  for  the  prince,  who  walked  into  the  schoolroom 
and  asked,  ''  Will  you  teach  me  Sanscrit  and  the  sixty- 
four  books  of  the  Immortals  ?  "  The  preceptor  listened 
with  amazement  to  his  skill  in  numbers,  as  he  ran 
through  a  trigonometrical  table. 

"  At  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was,  in  an  assembly  of 
nobles  and  Brahmans,  formally  invested  with  the  rank 
of  heir-apparent."  The  lords  presented  to  his  royal 
father  basins  of  water  brought  on  their  heads  from  the 
four  seas,  which,  mingled  with  oil,  was  sprinkled  on 
Siddartha's  head,  after  which  he  was  saluted  as  Crown- 
Prince,  and  received  the  seal  of  the  seven  precious  things. 
He  grew  up  with  princely  mien,  yet  gentle  and  wise, 
a  handsome  and  thoughtful  youth,  with  a  serious  face 
and  sad  countenance ;  an  old  head  on  young  shoulders. 
"  His  father,  however,  became  displeased  at  the  religious 
and  melancholy  tone  which  pervaded  the  prince's  life, 
and  tried  to  educate  him  in  the  arts  and  accomplishments 
suited  to  the  future  occupant  of  a  great  throne."  As 
was  wont  with  the  Shakya  princes,  he  was  trained  in 
gymnastics,  and  excelled  all  in  archery,  wrestling,  and 
other  manly  exercises.  Soon  he  had  occasion  to  use  his 
skill. 

Love  at  First  Sight. — The  king  issued  a  proclama- 
tion :  ''  The  Prince  Eoyal  desires  the  fair  ladies  of  the 
Shakya  clan  to  assemble  at  the  court,  when  he  will  distri- 
bute precious  ornaments."  Accordingly  there  came  to 
the  festival  a  lovely  and  charming  company,  "  all  excel- 


148         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

ling  in  beauty,  decked  with  costly  jewellery,  and  arrayed 
in  finest  robes,"  as  competitors  in  grace  and  loveliness. 
The  umpire  was  no  other  than  Siddartha,  who,  placed 
upon  a  rural  throne,  gave  gifts  to  each, — gems,  and 
pearls,  and  costly  toys, — as  one  by  one  the  flowers  of 
Kapilavastu's  capital  filed  before  His  Highness.  Each 
one,  because  of  the  grace  of  the  prince's  demeanour,  could 
not  look  him  in  the  face,  but,  passing  by  and  bowing, 
took  her  gift  and  departed,  the  tender-hearted  king,  with 
the  assembled  throng,  watching  his  countenance  to  see 
on  whom  his  eyes  would  fasten  ;  but  the  "  playful  smiles, 
arch  looks,  and  tender  blushes"  were  all  lost  on  the 
youthful  and  solemn  face.  Just  then  the  prince  was  seen 
to  start,  as  the  beautiful  Yasodhara,  a  dark-eyed  Indian 
maiden,  claimed  her  prize,  and  "  love  looked  love  to  eyes," 
as  upon  her  he  bestowed  his  signet  ring  and  necklace  of 
pearls.  She  was  asked  in  marriage,  but  the  father  said 
other  suitors  claimed  her  hand,  so  let  the  contestants 
"  engage  in  feats  of  manliness,"  "  the  victor's  crown  to  be 
Yasodhara,"  who  now  in  her  turn  sits  upon  a  dais  to  watch 
the  exploits  of  youthful  warriors.  Siddartha  called  for 
the  ancestral  bow,  which  only  Sinhahanu  could  use,  and 
as  he  thumbed  the  string  the  people  w^ith  trepidation 
asked,  "  What  sound  is  that?  "  He  then  sent  the  arrow 
which  pierced  seven  iron  drums  and  seven  iron  pigs. 
Mounted  on  Kantaka,  his  noble  steed,  none  could  equal 
him  in  equestrian  sports.  The  result  was  that  the  Prince 
Imperial  "  selected  a  lucky  day,  and  led  home  to  his 
palace  the  beautiful  Yasodhara,  adorned  with  gems  and 
jewels,  and  attended  by  five  hundred  bridesmaids." 

The  Indian  Paradise.— Suddhodana  built   for  them 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  1 49 

a  marble  palace  in  the  royal  park,  surrounded  by  a 
high  wall  with  a  gate  guarded  by  helmeted  warriors, 
and  provided  three  thousand  nautch  girls,  in  three  gay 
bands  by  day  and  by  night,  to  play  and  to  dance. 

"  Thus  passed  ten  years, 
"With  lovely  sights  were  gentle  faces  found, 
Soft  speech  and  willing  service,  each  one  glad 
To  gladden,  pleased  at  pleasure,  proud  to  obey  ; 
Till  life  glided  beguiled  like  a  smooth  stream 
Banked  by  perpetual  flowers,  Yasodhara 
Queen  of  the  enchanting  court." 

The  measures  his  father  adopted  were  ineffectual  in 
averting  the  dread  fate  so  early  announced  by  Indian 
seers.  "  He,  the  most  learned  and  the  most  powerful  of 
men,  came  to  sad  grief  through  women.  All  Buddhistic 
traditions  agree  in  stating  that  it  was  the  experiences 
with  the  ladies  of  his  harem  which  disgusted  him  with 
the  whole  world,  and  put  him  in  a  misanthropic  mood." 
He  lived  in  a  false  world  of  music  and  tinsel,  and  sighed 
to  learn  of  men  and  things  as  they  actually  existed. 
His  father  assented  to  his  request,  and  issued  a  mandate, 
that  the  streets  of  Kapilavastu  be  swept  and  sprinkled 
with  scented  water,  the  ground  carpeted  with  flowers, 
and  that  the  people  array  themselves  in  holiday  attire 
to  welcome  their  future  king  as  he  rides  forth  in  his 
chariot. 

Age,  Sickness,  and  Death. — Amidst  the  greetings 
of  the  happy  multitudes,  his  eyes,  which  had  only 
beheld  youth  and  beauty,  were  fastened  upon  an  old 
decrepid  man,  bent  down  with  years  and  infirmity,  a 
staff  supporting  his  tottering  limbs.     "  Charioteer,  what 


150         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


is  this  ?  "  "  Grreat  Prince,  this  man  is  old."  "  And  what 
does  old  mean?"  "The  body  wastes  away,  the  limbs 
grow  feeble  ;  mind  and  memory  gone."     "  And  my  body, 

must  I  grow  old  ?  "     "  Even  so,  holy  prince,  rich  and 

poor  share  this  common  lot." 

Again  he  essayed  beyond  the  gates  of  the  city,  when 
there  appeared  before  Siddartha  a  sick  and  pain-worn 
man,  lean  and  yellow,  upon  whom  the  plague  had  seized, 
as  anon  with  his  writhings,  almost  expiring,  he  rolled 
in  the  dust,  crying,  "  Alas  !  Alas  !  pity,  master,  pity." 
"  Who  is  this  unhappy  being  ?  "  The  coachman  answered, 
"  It  is  a  sick  man."  "  And  what  is  sickness  ?  "  "  This 
man's  body  is  unsound,  and  his  limbs  helpless ;  he 
endm-es  pain  without  remedy."  Again  the  prince  in- 
quired, "  Is  sickness  common  to  man  generally  ? "  to 
which  Channa  replies,  "  Grods  and  men  alike  are  unable 
to  avoid  this  misery."  "  And  must  I  some  day  be 
sick  ?  " 

The  next  time  he  sallies  forth  he  beholds  a  corpse. 
"  Who  is  this  lying  on  his  bed,  with  people  following 
him,  lamenting  as  he  is  carried  onwards  ?  "  "  Most  holy 
prince,  this  is  a  dead  body."  "  And  what  is  death  ? " 
The  garrulous  Channa,  who  drives  him,  answers,  and  the 
prince  asks,  "  Must  I  also  die  ? "  "  Neither  gods  nor 
men  can  escape  this  inevitable  fate." 

The  Flight — At  night  he  listens  to  voices  in  the 
air,  the  Devas  calling  him  to  abandon  sensual  pleasure 
and  seek  for  rest.  He  arises  from  his  bed,  and  passing 
through  the  hall,  the  lamps  untrimmed,  smoky  and 
defiled  with  oil,  the  women  asleep  in  every  unseemly 
position,   uneasily   moving    and    muttering,    some   with 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  1 5 1 

eyes  half-closed,  others  dribbling  from  their  mouths, 
grinding  with  their  teeth,  and  snoring  through  their 
noses,  he  exclaims,  "  Where  is  beauty  when  the  deco- 
rations are  taken  away,  the  jewels  removed,  and  the 
gaudy  dress  laid  aside  ?     I  will  go ;  the  time  has  come." 

Returning  to  his  wife's  chamber,  built  of  white  marble, 
with  soft  light  falling  on  the  royal  couch  from  perfumed 
lamps,  he  gazed  a  long  farewell,  and  "  once  for  all  for- 
sook his  home,  his  kindred,  and  his  kingdom." 

He  calls  for  his  noble  steed  Kantaka,  strokes  his  mane, 
mounts  the  saddle,  and  bids  him  fly  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind.  The  Devas  cause  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  on  all  within 
the  palace  walls,  the  clanging  hoofs  on  the  stones  are 
not  heard,  the  sentinels  awake  not,  and,  the  gate  which 
takes  five  hundred  men  to  open,  and  whose  creak  may 
be  heard  for  many  yojanas,  flies  open,  and  the  prince 
flees.  Eeaching  the  forest,  he  sends  back  horse  and 
groom,  saying  to  the  latter,  "  I  to-day  have  left  my 
kingdom,  with  only  you  to  follow  me  ;  you  follow  me 
both  in  heart  and  in  body.  Tell  my  father  I  am  not 
angry  or  unfilial,  but  all  creatures  are  deceived,  and  not 
on  the  true  road,  and  I  wish  to  save  them.  Take  this 
royal  mantle  and  circlet  of  pearls  to  my  wife,  and  say, 
"  Love  must  have  separations.  I  wish  to  mitigate 
suffering." 

The  Great  Renunciation — Siddartha  no  more,  prince 
no  longer.  Shaky amuni  "  made  his  great  renunciation 
complete  by  cutting  off  with  his  sword  the  long  locks 
of  the  warrior  "  and  putting  on  the  yellow  robe.  By  all 
the  severe  tortures  of  Brahminism  he  seeks  "  the  path," 
he  dwells  in  the  jungles  far  away  from   the  haunts  of 


152         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

men,  with  shaven  pate  and  soiled  garments,  in  squalor 
and  discomfort.  From  that  day,  as  "  the  author  of  a 
religion,  his  name  has  become  a  household  word  of  reve- 
rence among  millions  of  people.  Yet  the  glory  which 
has  gathered  around  the  name  of  this  historical  indivi- 
dual has  utterly  dazzled  the  eyes  of  his  followers,  and 
made  them  forget  the  real  man  in  order  to  grasp  at  a 
fictitious  deity." 

The  Hermit — He  dwelt  among  the  immortals  who 
lived  on  weeds,  fruits,  and  flowers, — some  with  one  meal 
a  day,  some  one  in  two  days,  and  some  one  in  three 
days.  He  took  his  seat,  tailor-fashion,  with  eyes  fixed 
on  the  end  of  his  nose,  and  counted  his  breathings  to 
keep  from  thinking,  with  daily  one  head  of  wheat  and 
one  of  hemp  for  his  diet  during  the  fcur  seasons  of 
six  long  years  ;  he  did  not  arise  to  attend  to  the  neces- 
sities of  the  body,  with  no  difference  in  his  position, 
without  moving  to  one  side  or  the  other,  without  leaning 
to  either  side  or  on  anything,  with  nothing  to  protect 
his  head  from  the  wind  or  rain,  insensible  even  to  the 
droppings  of  the  birds ;  his  eyes  did  not  look  aside,  and 
his  heart  was  without  fear. 

After  six  years  of  penance  he  was  so  lean  he  could 
scarcely  move,  and  his  body  was  like  a  dried  tree,  when 
two  kind  milkmaids  brought  him  milk  and  he  wag 
strengthened.  His  clothes  all  rotten,  he  spied  old  raiment 
under  a  tree.  His  biographer  states  that  the  fame  of  his 
mortification  "  spread  abroad  like  the  sound  of  a  great 
bell  hung  in  the  canopy  of  the  skies." 

At  this  time,  there  arrives  a  delegation  of  nobles  sent 
by    his   father  to   invite   him   back   to    his   palace,    and 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia. 


153 


urge  upon  him  to  receive  the  kingdom,  which  ofifer  he 
declines. 

Mara  and  his  Temptations. — Then  comes  the  time 
when  the  tempter  tries  his  power.  Shakyamuni  advances 
to   the  Bodhi-tree,    when   a  delegation   of   women    from 


Onset  of  Devils. 


the  harem  of  Hades  try  their  seductive  arts,  but  fail  to 
tempt  him  to  leave  the  ''  lion's  throne,"  a  cushion  of 
grass  prepared  by  heavenly  hands. 

He  then  fell  into  the  agony  of  a  mental  conflict,  which 
the  legends  portray  by  more  than  a  Miltonic  picture 
of  a   battle   between    Buddha    and    Mara.       The    devil 


154         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


assembles  the  hosts  of  the  infernal  regions,  and  tells  them 
that  a  Buddha  is  about  to  appear.  Three  onslaughts  he 
makes  on  the  lone  man  seated  beneath  the  tree  ;  the 
legions  of  hell,  myriads  upon  myriads,  to  the  number  of 
800,000,000,  riders  upon  elephants  and  camels,  cavalry, 
infantry,  chariots,  flag-bearers,  cannibal-spirits  armed 
with  arrows,  spears,  and  clubs,  the  dragons  riding  on  black 
clouds  ;  all  with  mighty  shouts,  and  flashing  lightning 
and  hail  storms :  thus  onwards  Mara  leads  Hades  in  battle 
array.  The  leader  cries,  "  One  man,  what  can  you  do  ? 
Get  out  of  the  way  ! "  He  brandishes  a  sword,  and  says, 
"  111  cut  you  in  two."  The  recluse  waved  his  hand,  and 
there  were  earthquakes,  at  which  elephants,  camels,  horses, 
chariots,  dragons,  and  spirits  fled  in  dire  confusion,  and 
bows  and  spears  covered  the  ground.  Some  of  the  army 
of  darkness  escaped  to  the  mountains,  some  to  the  caves, 
while  ^Nlara  and  a  portion  of  his  legions  prostrated  them- 
selves before  Buddha. 

Attaining  to  Buddhaship. — Seated  beneath  the  Bodhi- 
tree,  the  Ficiis  religiosa,  he  remained  steeped  in  a  sort 
of  ecstatic  meditation  during  the  whole  night.  "  He 
forced  his  mind  as  the  night  wore  through  to  a  strict 
sequence  of  thought,  and  as  morning  dawned  the  light 
he  so  long  sought  broke  upon  him,  and  he  reached  the 
goal  of  absolute  intelligence  ;  freed  from  the  bondage 
of  sense,  perception,  and  self,  he  has  broken  with  the 
material  world  and  lives  in  eternity."  Thus  by  a  purely 
human  process  the  Prince  Imperial  of  India  found  the 
light,  and  painfully  won  his  way  to  Buddhahood  ;  now 
no  longer  man,  he  is  Buddha,  The  Enlightened,  The 
Awakener. 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  155 

The  Heart  of  Pity. — It  is  recorded  in  his  youth  that 
the  royal  prince,  going  out  to  witness  a  ploughing  match, 
''seeing  the  tired  oxen,  their  necks  bleeding  from  the 
yoke,  the  men  toiling  beneath  the  mid-day  sun,  and  flocks 
of  birds  devouring  the  insects  in  the  upturned  soil,  his 
heart  was  filled  with  grief,  as  a  man  would  feel  who  saw 
his  own  household  bound  in  fetters."  And  with  increas- 
ing years  grew  his  compassionateness,  his  "  countenance 
glowing  with  the  burning  passion  of  love  "  to  a  world 
of  woe.  Who  can  live  on  the  plains  of  Asia  and  not 
sympathise  with  suffering  humanity  ?  During  twoscore 
years  he  entered  the  hovels  of  the  poor  and  was  familiar 
with  distress  and  want;  the  burden  of  the  labourer 
"  toiling  for  leave  to  live "  rested  as  a  load  upon  his 
back ;  the  wails  of  the  mourner,  the  groans  of  the  sick, 
and  the  cries  of  the  orphan  filled  his  ear ;  the  sufi*ering 
world  so  vast,  the  "  agony  of  earth"  so  great,  creatures 
in  bondage,  "  caught  in  this  common  net  of  pain  and 
woe,"  lay  upon  his  heart ;  the  spectacle  of  misery,  crime, 
decay,  desolation,  and  death  rose  before  his  eyes. 

*'  To  reign  as  a  great  king,  to  be  courted  by  the  high 
and  feared  by  the  low,  to  be  rich  in  the  spoils  of  the 
world,  all  seemed  to  him  contemptible.  The  honour  to 
which  he  aspired  was  to  redeem  the  countless  millions 
that  would  be  born  into  the  world  from  their  sins  and 
sorrows,  and  guide  them  in  a  way  leading  to  peace." 
"Through  the  soft  strains  of  the  musicians  he  heard 
the  groans  of  sorrow ;  his  eye  looked  beyond  the  fantastic 
movements  of  nautch  girls  under  the  glitter  of  the  lamp, 
to  the  moans  of  those  in  darkness  ;  beyond  the  perfumes 
of  his  garden  he  perceived  the  nausea  of  death ;  beyond 


156         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  pride  of  life  and  the  pomp  of  kings  floated  visions 
of  decay  and  dissolution,  of  ghastly  suffering  and  never- 
ending  bondage." 

Buddha  stated  his  object  in  leaving  his  palace  as 
four-fold.  1.  To  save  suffering  creatures.  2.  To  be  as 
a  lamp  and  medicine  to  those  in  blindness  and  dark- 
ness. 3.  To  teach  men  not  to  live  for  self.  4.  Seeing 
all  creatures  as  if  bound  to  the  wheels  of  the  three 
worlds,  like  a  thread  coiled  round  and  round,  to  unloose 
them.  Perhaps  at  times  his  pity  was  carried  to  an 
extreme.  Mara  says  to  Buddha,  "  Will  you  not  have 
a  heart  of  pity  and  save  my  life  ?  "  Buddha,  merciful 
as  a  father,  comforted  the  devil. 

His  Manhood — "  When  God  through  the  absurdities 
of  polytheism  was  pushed  out  of  view,  the  substitute 
was  Buddha,  the  perfect  sage,  the  model  ascetic,  the 
patient  and  loving  teacher,  the  wonder-working  magician, 
the  acknowledged  superior  of  gods  and  men." 

"  He  is  a  world-born  man,  who  washes  away  his  sins,  like 
others,  by  penances,  offerings,  and  the  teaching  of  some 
enlightened  instructor.  He  is  not  said  to  create  the 
universe,  nor  to  act  as  the  judge  of  mankind.  He  is 
simply  a  teacher  of  the  most  exalted  kind,  who,  by 
superior  knowledge,  passes  out  of  the  metempsychosis, 
and  gradually  attains  the  Nirvana.  His  attitude  towards 
his  disciples  is  simply  that  of  an  instructor,  not  an 
authoritative  superior.  In  fact,  the  character  ascribed 
to  Buddha  is  rather  that  of  a  saviour  than  that  of  a 
god.  The  object  of  his  life  and  teaching  is  to  rescue 
living  beings  from  their  misery." 

The  Tola  of  Mustard  Seed — Kisagotami,  three  years 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  1 5  7 

since  a  bride,  rejoiced  in  a  first-born  son,  but  just  as  his 
pattering  feet  were  making  glad  both  heart  and  home,  he 
was  taken  sick,  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  the  anxious 
mother,  fearing  to  lose  her  precious  boy,  carried  him 
clasped  to  her  bosom,  seeking  healing  from  physicians. 
Some  one  said,  "  Ask  the  holy  man  with  the  yellow 
robe  if  there  be  cure  for  thy  son."  She,  prostrate,  prays, 
"  Lord  and  Master,  what  medicine  will  heal  my  child  ?  " 
Said  he,  "  Go  fetch  a  tola  (two  ounces)  of  mustard  seed, 
but  take  it  not  from  any  hand  or  house  where  father, 
mother,  child,  or  slave  hath  died."  The  sad  face  went 
from  door  to  door,  and  all  had  the  handful  of  mustard 
seed  to  give,  but  when  she  asked,  "  Hath  death  e'er 
entered  this  abode  ?  "  the  reply  would  come,  "  Lady,  what 
is  this  you  ask  ?  The  dead  are  very  many  and  the 
living  few."  Father  or  mother,  husband  or  wife,  son  or 
daughter,  had  thence  been  borne  to  the  funeral  pile. 
Leaving  the  cold  treasure  in  the  forest,  broken-hearted, 
Kisagotami  comes  again  to  Buddha.  "  Hast  thou  pro- 
cured the  mustard  seed  ?  "  "  Grreat  Sir,  I  could  not  find 
a  single  house  where  none  had  died."  Shakyamuni 
said,  "  You  thought  you  alone  had  lost  a  son ;  the  law  of 
death  reigns  over  all  creatures.  I  seek  the  secret  of 
that  curse, — hiiry  thou  thy  child.''  There  was  no  balm 
in  Grilead,  there  was  no  physician  there. 

All  Flesh — The  scheme  of  Buddha  was  all-embracing. 
It  was  not  designed  merely  to  emancipate  man  from 
sorrow,  but  all  that  hath  life  and  breath.  Constantly 
reiterated  was  his  teaching  about  "  all  creatures,"  "  all 
living  things,"  "all  sentient  beings."  Men  and  beasts, 
birds  and  fish,  reptiles  and   insects,  are  all  on  an  equal 


158         TJic  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


basis.  His  maxim  was,  "All  the  animal  kingdom  are 
born  free  and  equal."  The  soul  of  a  dog  was  like  the 
soul  of  a  man,  the  soul  of  a  Ilea  equal  to  the  soul  of  a 
prince.  If  there  was  one  marked  characteristic  of  his 
ministry,  it  was  that  he  accounted  himself  the  Saviour 
of  the  lower  animals. 


\.  -^^.^^  -t 


1^  ^  ^'^Jl 


Ascending  to  Heaven. 

It  is  recorded  that  after  his  six  years'  fast  he  thought 
it  time  to  take  a  bath.  An  angel  pointed  his  finger 
to  the  earth,  and  it  became  a  pool. 

After  his  purification  the  water  was  taken  up  to 
Heaven,  and  all  the  fish  and  tadpoles  ascended  to 
Paradise.     He  bathed  in  order  to  save  them. 


Buddha,  the  AHght  of  Asia.  1 59 

Animal  Sacrifices. — When  passing  through  a  distant 
kingdom,  he  saw  hundreds  of  sheep  driven  along. 
Buddha  inquired  "  Where  are  these  sheep  being  driven  ?  " 
The  answer  was,  "  The  king's  mother  is  sick,  and  he  will 
ofifer  this  flock  in  sacrifice  to  Heaven."  He  follows, 
obtains  the  ear  of  the  king,  and  discourses  on  taking  life. 
"  You  take  animal  life  to  save  your  mother's  life  ;  to  sacri- 
fice a  hundred  years  is  not  equal  to  mercy  ;  sacrifice  is  as 
fornication  ;  the  murder  of  a  sheep  and  the  murder  of  a 
man  are  equal  crimes ;  if  a  man  in  worshipping  the  gods 
sacrifices  a  sheep  and  so  does  well,  why  should  he  not  kill 
his  child  and  so  do  better  ?  "  This  is  the  sum  of  Buddha's 
views  about  animal  sacrifices.  These  sentiments  seemed 
to  be  highly  appreciated  by  the  gushing  Edwin  Arnold, 
who  in  the  mouth  of  a  bonze  thus  styles  his  hero :  "  Lord 
Buddha,"  "  Lord  and  friend,"  "  Ah  !  Blessed  Lord,"  "  King 
and  high  conqueror,"  "  Oh  !  High  deliverer,"  "  Hailed  and 
honoured,"  "  All  honoured,"  "  Incomparable,"  "  Wisest, 
best,  most  pitiful,"  "  Ah  !  lover,  brother,  guide,  Lamp  of 
the  Law." 

^Esthetics — At  the  birth  of  Buddha  there  was  music 
in  the  air,  and  at  every  important  event  during  his  life 
the  choirs  of  the  Devas  sang,  harps  were  tuned  by  invisi- 
ble hands,  and  sweet  voices  were  heard  in  the  aerial  vaults. 
His  historians  record  that  scores  of  times  showers  of  frag- 
rant flowers  from  the  gardens  of  Paradise  fell  along  his 
pathway,  so  that  he  then  trod  on  a  bed  of  roses.  Light 
would  also  often  shine  round  about  Shakyamuni.  When 
a  youth  he  sat  beneath  a  tree  and  glory  sat  upon  his 
brow.  Suddhodam,  his  father,  seeing  it,  said,  ''It  was 
like  fire  upon  the  mountains,  and  the  moon  among  the 


i6o         The  Dragon,  linage,  and  Demon, 


stars."  At  another  time,  "  His  body,  bereft  of  all  its  jewels, 
emitted  a  soft  and  dazzling  light  like  the  beams  of  the  sun 
piercing  through  a  dark  cloud,  and  spreading  all  around 
the  brightness  of  its  glory."  As  he  walked,  "Glories 
issued  from  his  body  and  lighted  the  road."  A  halo  of 
golden  hue  was  the  only  crown  which  adorned  his  brow. 
At  any  moment  the  lightning  would  flash  from  his  fingers  ; 
again  his  face  would  be  like  the  sun,  and  the  assembly  of 
his  disciples  would  be  lit  up  as  if  by  a  score  of  electric 
lights. 

Discussions  with  the  Brahmans. — When  Buddha 
left  the  palace  he  went  to  the  great  teachers  of  India.  It 
was  told  the  philosopher  Alara,  that  "  the  son  of  Sudd- 
hodana — the  lord  of  the  Shakyas,  desiring  to  escape  from 
sorrow  and  attain  supreme  wisdom,  bright  and  glorious  as 
a  pillar  of  gold,  his  body  full  of  grace  and  beauty,  no 
other  than  the  great  lion  among  men — is  coming." 

Alara  thus  addressed  him,  "  Other  kings  have  forsaken 
empires,  but  only  when  satiated  with  pleasure,  but  thou, 
so  young,  and  in  the  vigour  of  youth,  to  give  up  the 
certain  enjoyment  of  royalty  and  to  prefer  the  hardships 
of  life  in  a  desert,  the  companion  of  beasts  and  the 
unfettered  birds,  wonderful  indeed  is  this  !  " 

Shakyamuni  replied,  "  I  find  that  all  men  are  fettered 
with  the  chains  of  birth  and  death,  old  age  and  disease, 
unable  to  free  themselves,  and  therefore  I  am  seeking  a 
way  of  escape.  I  search  for  that  which  is  imperishable 
and  permanent." 

Alara,  "  on  the  general  testimony  of  the  Shastars, 
instructs  Buddha  that  ^^.  first  condition  of  religious 
discipline  is  that  the  life  be  strictly  that  of  an  ascetic, 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia. 


and,  the  mind  passing  through  the  various  grades  of 
abstraction,  the  man  may  at  last  attain  full  joy  and  arrive 
at  a  complete  deliverance." 

Buddha  points  out  that  the  deliverance  is  not  final, 
as  there  is  a  possibility  of  returning  again  from  this 
condition,  because  there  is  still  the  idea  of  personality,  and 
there  still  remains  the  Ego^ — "  I  have  obtained  Nirvana." 

Alara  says,  "  This  condition  of  escape  that  admits  of  no 
return  to  life  and  its  troubles  is  that  of  the  Great  Brahma, 
whose  existence  is  one  of  perfect  quietude,  without 
beginning,  without  end,  without  bounds  or  limits,  no  first 
or  last,  his  operations  are  inexhaustible,  his  form  without 
parts  or  marks,  immutable,  incorruptible." 

"  But  if  this  be  so,"  replies  Buddha,  "  what  becomes  of 
him  when  at  the  end  of  the  kalpa  this  heaven  and  earth 
are  burnt  up  and  entirely  destroyed, — what  then  becomes 

OF  YOUR  CREATOR  ?  " 

Alara  asks,  "  What  is  the  system  of  deliverance  after 
which  you  look  ?  " 

Shakyamuni  replies,  "  I  seek  a  system  in  which  there 
shall  be  no  discussions  about  the  senses  or  their  objects, 
no  talk  of  death  or  birth,  disease  or  old  age,  no  questions 
about  existence  or  non-existence,  about  eternity  or  non- 
eternity,  in  which  words  shall  be  useless,  and  the  idea  of 
the  boundless  and  illimitable  realized." 

The  Itinerant — After  he  left  the  Bodhi-tree  he 
travelled  on  the  '^  circuit,"  but  his  circuit  embraced 
India  with  its  many  principalities,  and  Ceylon,  going 
from  city  to  city  and  village  to  village  teaching.  It 
is  remarkable  how  much  work  he  did  in  the  hamlets. 
He  often  sought  the  forest,  and  from    afar  crowds  came 

IX 


1 62         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

to  listen.  His  band  of  immediate  followers  numbered 
1,250,  but  hundreds  of  thousands  flocked  around  him 
as  he  passed  from  place  to  place.  He  began  ^'  a  course 
of  public  open-air  preaching,  a  perfectly  novel  thing  in 
his  time."  He  was  a  John  the  Baptist,  with  his  alms 
bowl,  shaven  pate,  and  yellow  robe,  the  sensation  of 
that  land  and  age.  "  His  royal  appearance  and  princely 
bearing,  his  well-tested  self-abnegation,  his  boundless 
charity,  his  skill  in  persuasion,  his  originality  in 
teaching,  all  contributed  to  his  success."  Marching  at 
the  head  of  a  priestly  brigade,  uniform  in  their 
flowing  robes  of  yellow,  and  armed  only  with  the 
beggar's  bowl,  he  commanded  the  attention  of  the 
ruling  rajahs,  several  of  whom  accepted  his  instructions. 

"  Leaving  Mount  Pandara,  surrounded  by  a  vast  crowd, 
Buddha  advanced  steadily  onwards,  his  body  perfectly 
erect,  his  eyes  fixed  before  him  and  his  garments  all 
strictly  arranged,  and  as  he  passed  through  the  streets 
those  who  were  engaged  in  buying  and  selling,  or  others 
who  were  drinking  in  the  wine  shops,  all  left  their 
engagements  and  were  wrapped  in  awe  as  they  beheld 
Buddha  and  followed.  So  also  countless  women  in  the 
city  gazed  at  Buddha  from  the  corners  of  the  doorposts, 
from  the  windows,  from  the  balconies,  and  from  the  tops 
of  the  houses,  and  as  they  watched  him  go  from  door  to 
door  their  hearts  were  filled  with  unutterable  joy,  as  they 
spoke  to  one  another,  '  Who  is  this  that  has  come  hither, 
his  person  so  beautiful  and  so  joy-giving  as  he  moves  ? ' 
'  What  is  his  name  ? '  '  What  caste  or  family  does  he 
belong  to  ?  '     '  Is  he  Brahman  or  Shaman  ?  '  " 

Buddha  said  of  himself,  "  I  am  no  god  or  spirit,  but  a 


Buddha,  tJie  Night  of  Asia,  163 


plain  man  seeking  for  rest,  and  so  am  practising  the  rules 
of  an  ascetic  life."  He  described  himself  as  "  the  father 
and  mother  of  his  helpless  children ;  their  guide  and 
leader  along  the  precipitous  path  of  life  ;  shedding  the 
light  of  his  truth  like  the  sun  and  moon  in  the  vault  of 
Heaven  ;  providing  a  ferry-boat  for  passengers  over  this 
vain  sea  of  shadows  ;  as  a  propitious  rain-cloud,  restoring 
all  things  to  life,  providing  salvation  and  refuge  by  direct- 
ing men  into  the  final  path  that  leads  to  Nirvana." 

His  Opponents. — He,  like  the  Judean  teacher,  came 
to  find  a  state  of  formalism  among  the  religionists  of  India. 
He  was  not  so  much  the  founder  of  a  new  sect  as  the 
Martin  Luther  among  the  Brahmans,  for  he  "  re-modelled 
every  Brahmanical  dogma,  and  placed  every  Brahmanical 
doctrine  in  a  new  light."  The  Brahmans  opposed  him 
throughout  his  career,  and  several  times  he  was  summoned 
to  discussions  before  an  Oriental  Diet  of  Worms.  The 
"  six  teachers,"  like  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  tried  on 
every  public  occasion  "  to  entangle  him  in  his  talk."  One 
secret  of  his  popularity  was  his  pronounced  opposition  to 
the  powerful  caste-spirit  in  India,  and  its  tyranny  in  civil 
life  ;  his  asserting  the  rights  of  the  democracy,  and  declar- 
ing that  his  religion  was  a  religion  of  mercy  to  all. 

The  Monastic  System. — His  first  disciples  were  from 
the  fire-worshippers,  perhaps  the  original  Parsees,  who 
were  converted  more  by  the  use  of  magic  than  by  the 
power  of  his  logic  ;  whole  sects  changed  their  religion  and 
became  his  followers.  He  thus  "  gradually  founds  a  new 
religion ;  crowds  of  fanatic  followers  gather  around  him ; 
men  of  all  ranks  and  all  classes,  taking  the  vow  of  per- 
petual chastity  and   voluntary  poverty,  follow   him  clad 


164         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

in  rags,  begging  and  preaching."  His  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation is  built  upon  the  idea  that  the  Church  is  a  kingdom 
of  priests,  and  that  only  the  priests  belong  to  the  Church. 
"  As  Shakyamuni  was  the  first  in  time  of  the  founders  of 
monastic  communities,  so  he  surpassed  them  all  in  the 
originality  of  his  conceptions,  in  the  success  of  his  system, 
and  in  the  force  of  his  influence."  His  "practical  genius  " 
was  seen  in  gaining  a  livelihood  for  the  community  by 
the  gifts  of  kings,  the  liberality  of  new  members,  and 
the  charity  of  all  kindly  disposed,  and  "  in  a  few  years 
India  was  covered,  through  the  labours  of  the  Buddhist 
preachers,  with  flourishing  communities  of  monks,"  who 
sat  at  the  feet  of  their  teacher  during  the  rains  and  the 
heat,  but  "  in  the  cool  season  of  the  year  the  Bikshus  or 
religious  mendicants  were  everywhere  seen  on  the  roads 
and  in  the  cities  teaching  the  true  path." 

As  soon  as  the  number  reached  fifty-six,  he  scattered 
them  for  work,  and  in  his  later  years  enjoined,  "  Let  no 
two  go  the  same  road."  He  also  conferred  the  power  on 
his  priests  of  receiving  men  into  the  priesthood,  and 
gave  this  formula  of  faith, — 

I  take  my  refuge  in  Buddha. 

I  take  my  refuge  in  the  Law. 

I  take  my  refuge  in  the  Church. 

Afterwards,  when  among  his  followers  were  many 
women,  he  established  "an  order  of  sisters  of  charity," 
thus  giving  to  women  the  chance  of  salvation. 

The  Wheel  of  the  Excellent  Law.— His  first  public 
appearance  was  at  the  great  religious  centre  of  northern 
India.  *'  I  now  desire  to  turn  the  wheel  of  the  excellent 
law  j  for  this  purpose  I  am  going  to  Benares  to  give  light 


Btiddka,  tJie  Night  of  Asia,  165 

to  those  enshrouded  in  darkness."  He  commanded  his 
disciples,  ''  Explain  the  beginning,  the  middle,  and  the 
end  of  the  law  to  all  men."  "  Turning  the  wheel  of  the 
excellent  law,"  is  the  figure  of  grinding  by  which  the 
"  chaff  and  refuse  are  forced  from  the  good  flour."  "  The 
wheel  of  doctrine  revolved  thrice ;  first,  didactic  state- 
ment, then  exhortation,  and  lastly  appeal  to  personal 
experience."  Buddha  said,  "  I  ought  to  open  the  gate 
of  the  sweet  law^,  who  shall  first  hear  it?" 

The  Ten  Prohibitions. — Once  in  an  assembly  of  all 
the  gods  he  delivered  the  ten  great  and  the  forty-eight 
small  commandments.  1.  Do  not  take  life.  2.  Do  not 
steal.  3.  Do  not  commit  adultery.  4.  Do  not  lie.  5. 
Do  not  drink.  6.  Do  not  slander  priests  and  nuns.  7. 
Do  not  praise  self.  8.  Do  not  be  stingy.  9.  Do  not  get 
angry.  10.  Do  not  abuse  the  "three  precious  ones" 
(Buddha,  the  Law,  and  the  Church). 

The  Deer  Park. — The  "  deer  park  "  at  Benares  was 
the  chief  seat  of  his  school,  and  here  from  time  to  time, 
during  fifty  years,  he  gave  the  new  law  to  India.  The 
preponderance  of  his  teaching  was  ethical,  and  generally 
spoken  in  a  simple,  minted  style.  As  an  author,  his  chief 
works  were,  "  The  Sutra  of  the  Forty-two  Sections,"  "  The 
Diamond  Sutra,"  "  The  Sutra  of  Establishment,"  "  The 
Lotus  of  the  Grood  Law,"  and  "  The  Doctrine  of  Nirvana," 
which  were  discourses  written  out  by  his  disciples.  One 
of  his  "  Sermons  on  Wisdom "  was  delivered  to  the 
"  Benevolent  King,"  Prasenajit.  "  At  first  Buddha  ap- 
peared like  the  sun  in  the  east  illuminating  the  tops  of 
the  western  hills."  "The  Lotus  of  the  Good  Law" 
marks  the  time  when  "  his  sun  reached  the  zenith  and 


1 66         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

cast  no  shadow."  This  was  delivered  at  the  close  of  his 
public  life,  and  "  is  regarded  as  the  mellowest  and  richest 
of  his  productions."  Buddha  said,  ''I  am  not  to  be 
destroyed,  but  shall  be  constantly  'on  the  mount  of 
instruction ; ' "  i.e.,  he  would  live  in  his  teachings. 

The  Brevity  of  Life. — Shakyamuni  said,  "  Life  was 
like  a  tree  from  whose  roots  the  earth  is  washed  by  a 
stream ;  it  was  like  sketching  on  water,  and  like  the  moon 
in  water;  like  the  flight  of  an  arrow,  like  a  deception, 
and  as  a  dream ;  like  a  bubble,  a  shadow ;  like  heat,  like 
dew,  passing  as  quickly  as  a  flash  of  lightning.  Some- 
times as  he  spake  the  hearts  of  the  audience  were  melted, 
and  they  went  after  him  in  love. 

The  Body. — His  great  text  was  the  vanity  of  all  below  ; 
the  body  is  the  seat  of  evil,  the  fountain  of  misery.  From 
the  human  passions  come  sorrow ;  subdue  these,  free  your- 
self from  all  that  is  human,  and  then  will  the  root  of 
misery  be  extirpated.  He  says,  in  his  Chinese  Biography, 
"  Beloved,  that  which  causes  life  causes  also  decay  and 
death.  The  very  nature  of  the  body,  however  pure, 
involves  the  necessity  of  decay  and  therefore  of  change. 
To  have  a  body  is  the  worst  of  evils  ;  the  body  is  the 
fountain  of  misery ;  labour,  fear,  and  sorrow  are  from  the 
body." 

He  says,  "  To  follow  my  law  there  must  be  faith  ;  the 
doctrine  is  pure  and  white  ;  do  not  forget  the  fruits ;  it 
is  better  to  lose  one's  life  than  to  do  unrighteousness ;  do 
not  take  life  ;  do  not  commit  the  ten  evils,  but  you  must 
perform  the  ten  good  actions ;  the  good  and  evil  rewards 
are  now  in  our  actions,  mouths,  and  hearts." 

Know  Thyself. — A  party  of  thirty  princes  and  twenty- 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  167 

nine  princesses  were  on  a  picnic  excursion,  when  they  met 
a  person,  and  though  they  were  not  well  acquainted  with 
her,  yet  they  invited  her  to  join  them  in  their  pleasure 
trip.  By-and-by,  when  they  were  all  asleep,  she  stole 
all  their  jewellery  and  made  off.  They  tried  pursuit,  and 
meeting  with  Buddha  asked  him  "  if  he  had  seen  a 
woman  ?  "  He  replied,  "  Princes,  is  it  best  to  seek  that 
woman  or  to  seek  yourselves  ?  "  They  said,  "  Of  course, 
it  is  best  to  seek  ourselves."  To  which  Shakyamuni 
responded,  "  Then  wait  a  little,  and  I  will  preach  to  you 
the  law."     They  became  Buddhists. 

Birth,  Age,  Misery,  and  Death. — His  ministry  was 
devoted  to  these  four  topics.  The  burning  question. 
How  can  the  essence  of  birth  and  death  be  destroyed  ? 
His  "  four  truths "  were  duka,  misery  ;  samudaya,  the 
passions  as  the  cause  of  misery;  niroda,  the  extinction 
of  the  passions  ;  and  marga,  the  path  of  reformation. 
The  first  stage  is  meditation  ;  feeling  and  seeing  will  be 
cast  away,  and  you  will  have  a  happy  heart.  The  second 
stage  ;  you  cast  away  a  happy  heart,  have  true  thoughts, 
and  so  obtain  the  root  of  pleasure.  The  third  stage; 
you  cast  away  misery  and  pleasure  and  have  pure 
thoughts.  The  fourth  stage ;  no  thought.  He  asked 
candidates  for  church  membership,  "  Do  you  know  that 
seeing,  receiving,  thinking,  doing,  knowing,  are  all  of 
short  duration  ?  " 

The  Ego. — Some  of   Skakyamuni's  teachings  do  not 
seem  to  a  careful  reader  to  be   very  distinct.     Buddha 
said,  "  The  not  thinking,  not  not  thinking  place,  has  it  '  I 
or  has  it  not  ?     If  without  the  Ego,  you  cannot  say  of 
it,  Not  thinking,  not  not  thinking.     If  there  is  the  Ego, 


1 68         The  Drag07i,  Image,  and  Demon. 

is  it  the  knowing  '  I '  or  the  not  knowing  '  I '  ?  If  there 
is  no  knowledge  it  is  to  be  like  grass  and  wood ;  if  there 
is  knowledge,  there  is  something  tangible;  if  it  is  tangible, 
it  must  be  defiling,  and  so  the  man  is  not  free.  Know- 
ledge is  the  root  of  the  five  yin  (seeing,  receiving, 
thinking,  doing,  and  knowing) ;  by  knowledge,  thought 
is  begotten ;  thought  begets  the  sight  of  the  beautiful. 
Looking  at  the  body  you  must  not  consider  the  body  as 
existing ;  thus  you  can  leave  the  Ego  and  also  leave  the 
place  where  the  Ego  dwells.  Misery  springs  from  matter ; 
getting  rid  of  matter,  a  man  is  set  free  from  misery. 
Not  to  think  of  '  I,'  of  men,  of  creatures,  of  age, — to 
leave  all  thought,  this  is  to  be  Bud- 
dha." It  is  necessary  to  have  a  heart 
fixed  on  nothing,  a  heart  which 
dwells  nowhere. 

He  embraced  his  teachings  in  a 
circle — The   path  is   to    emptiness, 
from    emptiness    to    the    shoreless 
Buddha's  Teaching.        region  of  knowledge,  from  the  shore- 
less  region    of    knowledge    to    the 
useless,  from  the  useless  to  the  not  thinkable,  from  the 
not  thinkable  to  the  not  not  thinkable,  from  the  not  not 
thinkable  to  the  region  of  the  destroyed,  the  ceased,  the 
motionless ;  from  the  region  of  the  destroyed,  the  ceased, 
the  motionless,  to  the  not  not  thinkable,  from  the  not 
not  thinkable  to  the  not  thinkable,  from  the  not  thinkable 
to  the  useless,  from  the  useless  to  the  shoreless  region  of 
knowledge,  from  the  shoreless  region  of  knowledge  to  emp- 
tiness, and  thus  around  and  around  in  perpetual  motion. 
"  Can   Buddha's  words  be    explained  ?  "   asks  one.     A 


Bjtddha,  the  Alight  of  Asia.  1 69 

disciple  replies,  "  There  is  no  fixed  law  ;  Buddha's  law 
you  cannot  explain,  you  cannot  take  hold  of;  it  is  not 
law,  not  not  law." 

The  Previous  Existence. — Much  of  Buddha's  talk 
was  about  what  happened  in  a  previous  life.  Had  he 
been  a  teacher  of  the  present  generation,  some  one  would 
have  asked  if  his  consciousness  testified  of  this  previous 
existence  or  was  he  "  drawing  on  his  imagination  "  ?  He 
often  spoke  of  cause  and  effect,  the  cause  in  a  life  previous 
to  the  present,  and  the  effect  in  this.  A  happy  life 
resulted  from  good  deeds  done  before  the  party  lived  in 
mortal  flesh ;  poverty  and  suffering  because  of  sin  or 
stinginess  in  the  life  gone  by.  The  doctrine  of  causation 
runs  throughout  Buddhistic  literature. 

An  aged  man  of  two  hundred  years  came  to  Buddha 
and  told  him  of  all  his  troubles.  "  I  am  unfortunate,  poor, 
cold,  and  hungry.  I  want  to  die,  but  cannot."  The  sage 
of  India  says,  "  Sins  have  a  root ;  in  a  previous  existence 
you  were  rich  and  learned,  but  you  lightly  esteemed  men, 
and  were  unwilling  to  be  charitable.  If  you  wish  to 
know  your  state  in  a  previous  age,  look  at  your  estate  at 
present ;  if  you  wish  to  know  your  estate  when  you  return 
to  this  world,  look  at  your  present  deeds.  Men  are  poor 
because  when  before  on  earth  they  would  covet  and 
steal.  Why  now  rich?  Because  of  charitable  acts  in  a 
previous  life."  The  charity  which  he  insisted  on  most  of 
all  was  giving  to  the  priests. 

One  day  as  Shakyamuni  entered  a  room,  a  dog  which 
was  hiding  under  a  bed  came  out  barking  furiously  at 
him.  Shakyamuni  said  to  the  dog,  "  You  are  protecting 
money,"  which  remark  made  the   iinimal  very  angry  ;  he 


I  70         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

lay  down  and  would  not  eat.  The  master  returning 
asked  the  reason  why  his  favourite  dog  was  thus  pining 
away.  The  servants  said,  "  Shakyamuni  has  been  here." 
He  then  went  to  see  the  sage  to  inquire  what  he  had 
done  to  his  dog.  The  latter  quietly  remarked,  "  That 
dog  is  your  father."  The  gentleman  rejected  the  im- 
putation. Shakyamuni  says,  "  If  you  do  not  believe  me, 
go  and  ask  the  dog  where  money  was  hid  in  a  previous 
life."  He  did  so,  and  the  dog  grabbled  up  the  silver 
hoarded  in  the  earth  beneath  the  bed. 

Parables. — The  Indian  teacher  constantly  made  use 
of  parables.  There  is  a  "  Book  of  the  Hundred  Parables." 
Over  thirty  are  recorded  in  his  Biography,  from  which 
the  following  are  selected. 

The  Prudent  Quail. — Ages  ago,  there  was  a  certain 
fowler,  who  having  found  a  secluded  spot  where  the  birds 
often  lighted,  proceeded  to  the  place,  and  making  a 
covering  of  twigs  and  branches  he  shielded  himself  as 
he  lay  in  wait.  The  birds  lighting  on  the  top,  the 
fowler  slyly  put  his  hand  through  the  branches  and 
captured  them.  One  bird  observed  that  this  arbour 
moved  from  place  to  place,  while  all  the  other  trees 
stood  still,  so  it  kept  at  a  distance  from  the  snare. 

At  that  time  I  was  the  wise  bird. 

*' Forget-Favour,"  the  Merchant.— A  man  named 
Deputati  sent  five  hundred  archers  to  shoot  Buddha. 
The  arrows  became  flowers.  Buddha  spoke  this  parable. 
A  merchant  by  the  name  of  "  Forget-Favour "'  went  in 
search  of  pearls.  The  boat  overturned,  and  a  turtle 
brought  the  crew  to  shore  on  his  back.  "P^orget-Favour" 
was  hungry,  and  killed  the  turtle  for  soup. 


Buddha,   the  Night  of  Asia.  1 7 1 

I  was  that  turtle,  and  Deputati  "  Forget-Favour." 
The  Mani-Gem. — The  Bikshus,  his  priests,  asked, 
"  By  what  power  of  resolution  and  fixed  determination 
the  World- Honoured  has  obtained  perfection  ?  "  Buddha 
replied,  "I  remember  in  years  gone  by  that  I  was  a 
merchant  prince  who  went  to  sea  in  order  to  gather 
precious  gems,  and  whilst  so  engaged  I  obtained  one 
]Mani-gem  of  inestimable  value,  but  I  let  it  fall  into  the 
sea  and  lost  it.  Then  taking  a  ladle  I  began  with  fixed 
determination  to  bale  out  the  water  of  the  ocean  to 
recover  my  gem.  The  sea-god  said,  'How  can  this  foolish 
man  empty  the  wide  and  boundless  ocean  ? '  I  replied, 
'  My  resolution  shall  never  flag ;  I  will  bale  out  the 
ocean  and  get  my  precious  gem  ;  you  watch  me,  and 
do  not  grieve  and  fret  at  the  long  delay.'  The  sea-god, 
hearing  these  words,  was  filled  with  anxiety  for  the  safety 
of  his  realm,  and  gave  me  back  my  gem." 

The  Cunning  Tortoise. — In  ancient  kalpas,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Paryata,  lived  a  man  with  a  flower- 
garden,  who  made  wreaths  and  bouquets  for  sale.  A 
tortoise  at  night  would  come  from  the  water  to  eat  what 
he  found  here  and  there,  and  mashed  down  the  beds  of 
lovely  flowers.  In  a  wicker  cage  he  was  entrapped.  How 
sliall  I  escape?  thought  he.  What  device  can  I  adopt  ? 
He  addressed  his  captor  with  this  gatha : 

*'I  am  just  from  the  river  and  covered  with  mire, 
Take  me  to  the  bank  and  wash  me,  I  desire, 
Lest  the  mud  on  my  body,  all  mingled  with  sand, 
Should  pollute  the  nice  basket  you  hold  in  your  hand." 

The  gardener  said,  "  This  is  good  advice,  I  never 
thought  of  that."     Immediately  he  dipped  the  tortoise  in 


172         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  river,  and  placing  him  on  a  stone  flung  water  on  him, 
when  suddenly  the  tortoise  made  a  dive  and  escaped,  and 
would  not  listen  to  the  entreaties  of  the  gardener  to 
return. 

I  was  that  tortoise. 

The  Foolish  Dragon. — In  years  gone  by,  a  dragon 
living  in  the  great  sea  saw  that  his  wife's  health  was  not 
good.  He,  seeing  her  colour  fade  away,  said,  "  My  dear, 
what  shall  I  get  you  to  eat  ?  "  Mrs.  Dragon  was  silent. 
"  Just  tell  me  and  I  will  get  it,"  pleaded  the  affectionate 
husband.  "  You  cannot  do  it,  why  trouble  you  ?  "  quoth 
she.  "  Trust  me,  and  you  shall  have  your  heart's  desire,'* 
said  the  dragon.  "  Well,  I  want  a  monkey's  heart  to 
eat."  "  Why,  Mrs.  Dragon,  the  monkeys  live  in  the 
mountain  forests,  how  can  I  get  one  of  their  hearts  ?  '*' 
"  Well,  I  am  going  to  die,  I  know  I  shall." 

Forthwith  the  dragon  went  on  shore,  and  spying  a 
monkey  on  the  top  of  a  tree,  said,  "  Hail,  shining  one, 
are  you  not  afraid  you  will  fall  ?  "  ''  No,  I  have  no  such 
fear."  "  Why  eat  of  one  tree  ?  You  cross  the  sea,  and 
you  will  find  forests  of  fruits  and  flowers."  "  How  can  I 
cross  ?  "  "  Get  on  my  back."  The  dragon  with  his  tiny 
load  went  seaward,  and  then  suddenly  dived  down. 
"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  says  the  monkey,  with  the  salt 
water  in  his  eyes  and  mouth.  "  Oh  !  my  dear  sir !  my 
wife  is  very  sad  and  ill,  and  has  taken  a  fancy  to  your 
heart."  "  What  shall  I  do?  "  thought  the  monkey.  He 
then  sj)oke,  "  Illustrious  friend,  why  did  not  you  tell  me  ? 
I  left  my  heart  on  the  top  of  the  tree ;  take  me  back,  and 
I  will  get  it  for  Mrs.  Dragon."  Neptune  returned  to  the 
shore.     As  the  monkey  was  tardy  in  coming  down  from 


Buddha,  tJie  Nig  Jit  of  Asia. 


1/3 


the  tree,  the  dragon  said,  "  Hurry  up,  little  friend,  I  am 
waiting."  Then  the  monkey  thought  within  himself, 
"  What  a  fool  this  dragon  is  !  " 

Then  Buddha  said  to  his  followers,  "  At  this  time  I  was 
the  monkey." 


Throwing  the  Elephant. 


Miracles.  The  White  Elephant.  —  The  recorded 
miracles  of  the  Indian  hermit  are  many.  When  a  boy 
his  father  bought  a  white  elephant  for  him  to  ride.  He 
grasped  it  by  the  trunk,  struck  it  on  the  neck,  killed 
it,  and  threw  it  over  the  city  wall. 

In    Mid-Air.^At    another  time,    as  a    pious   princess 


174         ^/^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

worships  towards  the  "  lion's  throne,"  Buddha  and  all  his 
priests,  in  the  full  view  of  the  king  and  his  court,  came 
riding  in  mid-air  on  dragons,  peacocks,  tigers,  leopards, 
cows,  and  horses. 

The  Blind  Boy. — There  was  a  stingy  father  who  had 
a  stingy  son.  The  stingy  father  after  his  death  returns 
to  earth,  as  the  blind  son  of  a  blind  mother,  whose 
husband  sends  them  out  to  beg.  They  go  to  the  house  of 
the  stingy  son  w4io  is  still  living.  The  porter  throws  him 
out  of  the  gate,  cracks  his  skull,  and  breaks  his  arm.  At 
that  time  Buddha  passes ;  he  gives  sight  to  the  boy,  and 
heals  his  skull  and  arm.  All  who  heard  of  this  became 
charitable. 

Healing  the  Sick. — On  another  day  Buddha  comes 
to  a  house  where  there  is  a  sick  man.  He  flashes  light 
in  the  house  ;  the  sick  man  sees  the  light  and  is  healed. 
Buddha  discourses  on  the  cause  of  disease. 

The  Threads  of  His  Robe. — The  dragons  came  to 
Buddha  and  said  they  feared  they  would  be  devoured  by 
the  kingfishers.  Buddha  gave  them  his  robe  and  said, 
"  Let  each  take  a  thread,  and  the  kingfishers  cannot 
trouble  you."  The  dragons  said,  "  There  are  not  threads 
enough,"  but  as  he  gave  it  out  thread  by  thread,  the  robe 
remained  intact,  so  he  supplied  hundreds  of  thousands. 

The  Stone.— In  his  latter  days  300,000  mighty  men, 
hearing  that  Shakyamuni  was  about  to  die,  thought  they 
would  go  and  move  a  stone  out  of  the  road,  which  would 
be  in  the  way  of  his  coffin.  Buddha  changed  himself  into 
a  priest,  passed  by,  and  asked,  ''What  are  you  doing, 
children  ?  "  "  What  do  you  call  us  children  for  ?  "  said 
they.     "  If  300,000  of  you  cannot  move  a  stone,  wh^  not 


Buddha,  the  Alight  of  Asia.  i  75 

call  you  children  ?  "  "  Oh,  you  are  a  giant,  are  you  ?  " 
They  then  asked,  "  Can  you  move  the  stone  ?  "  He 
took  two  toe-nails,  shook  the  stone,  then  threw  it  over ; 
blew  his  breath  and  turned  it  into  dust ;  then  he  resumed 
the  form  of  Buddha  and  preached  to  this  vast  assembly. 

The  Dragons — Buddha  had  frequent  dealings  with 
the  myriad  Neptunes  which  inhabited  the  great  deep. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  appointed  the  good  dragons 
as  guardians  of  his  law.  At  times  he  had  famous  en- 
counters. Near  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  when 
travelling  in  a  distant  land,  his  host,  who  was  no  other 
than  Kashiapa,  the  first  Patriarch,  told  him  he  would  have 
to  put  him  in  a  room  haunted  by  a  bad  dragon.  The 
guest  assured  him  it  made  no  difference,  entered  the 
apartment,  and  sat  cross-legged.  The  dragon  came  out  to 
see  the  intruder  and  smoke  issued ;  from  Buddha's  body 
also  smoke  issued.  The  dragon  got  in  a  rage  and  emitted 
fire ;  Buddha  also  emitted  lire,  and  the  two  flanies 
commingling,  the  house  caught  fire.  The  neighbours 
came  with  fire-engines  to  extinguish  it,  but  their  efforts 
were  unavailing.  Buddha  used  magic,  subdued  the 
dragon,  and  shut  him  up  in  his  rice-bowl.  His  disciples 
wondered  that  he  was  not  burnt,  but  he  said,  "  I  am  pure, 
fire  cannot  harm  me." 

In  another  state  there  were  female  dragons  who 
associated  with  poisonous  dragons  that  sent  pestilence 
and  disease.  The  magicians  failing  to  expel  them  with 
their  charms,  the  king  sent  for  Buddha.  The  dragons 
spit  fire,  but  from  Shakya's  head  went  out  gold  flame 
which  changed  into  thousands  of  Buddhas  "  in  the  air," 
— little  images  on  every  side.      The    dragons    fled   into 


I  76         The  Dragon,  Image,  aiid  Demon. 

Buddha's  shadow,   but  his  shadow  was  sparkling  as  the 
dew.     They  came  and  worshipped  him. 

The  Magician. — On  one  occasion  before  the  assembled 
multitude,  the  "  World-Honoured,"  as  he  was  officially 
addressed,  ascended  in  the  air  and  displayed  his 
legerdemain.  "First  he  caused  a  great  fire  to  ascend 
from  his  head  and  a  stream  of  water  from  his  foot  ;  he 
then  mixed  the  fire   and   water  above  and   below   him ; 


then  he  sent  forth  fire  from  his  back  and  water  before 
him  ;  then  a  flame  of  fire  from  his  right  eye  and  water 
from  his  left ;  from  his  right  and  left  ears  and  right  and 
left  nostrils  the  same  and  the  reverse  ;  and  in  the  same 
manner  fire  and  water  from  his  shoulders,  hands,  legs, 
feet,  thumbs,  and  great  toes  :  all  marvellous  to  behold. 
Then  flowed  from  one  hair  water,  and  from  another 
flashed   fire.     He   then    sent   forth    his    six  glories,  and 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia. 


^77 


walked  to  and  fro  in  the  air.  The  six  glories  made  him 
appear  like  pure  gold  just  poured  from  the  crucible,  and 
the  glories  extended   as  did  the  fire  and  water." 

Amusing    Incidents.       The    Fishermen.— Buddha 
passed   by   a   river,   and   found   five    hundred    fishermen 


SCri'ii 


The  Lions  and  the  Elephants. 


trying  to  pull  out  a  fish.  They  called  a  thousand 
herdsmen  to  their  aid.  The  fish  had  a  hundred  heads, — 
horse,  donkey,  deer,  tiger,  wolf,  hog,  dog,  monkey,  and 
fox.  Buddha  asked  the  fish,  "  Are  you  Kapele  ?  "  The 
fish  replied,  "I  am."  Buddha  said,  '^  Formerly  there 
was  a  Brahman  who  had  a  very  intelligent  daughter,  and 

12 


178         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


he  called  the  priests  to  be  her  teachers,  but  every  time 
her  instructors  knew  more  than  she  did  she  called  them 
stupid  as  animals,  therefore  you  see  her  with  such  a 
head."     All  the  convoys  asked  to  be  priests. 

The    Drunken    Elephants.— One   of    the     reigning 


Rescuing  the  Little  Devil. 

rajahs  thought  he  would  play  a  trick  on  Shakyamuni,  so 
invited  him  and  five  hundred  priests  to  come  to  the 
capital.  He  made  five  hundred  elephants  drunk,  who 
madly  rushed  about  and  tore  down  houses.  The  priests 
fly  over  the  city.  Buddha  and  Ananda  walk ;  the  army 
of  elephants  make  an    onslaught.     Buddha's  five  fingers 


Buddha,  the  N'ight  of  Asia,  i  79 

change  into  five  lions,  which  rush  on  the  elepbants, 
who  kneel  and  weep.     The  king  repents. 

The  Goose. — The  "  World-Honoured "  on  a  journey 
came  to  a  ferry  on  the  Ganges  when  the  river  was  swollen 
up  to  its  banks.  The  ferryman  asked  him  for  his  toll. 
Baddha  replied,  "  I  have  cast  away  all  earthly  riches,  and 
look  on  them  as  tiles,  stone,  earth,  and  mud."  "  You 
can't  cross  this  ferry,"  said  the  ferryman.  Buddha  saw 
a  flock  of  geese  flying  across  without  toll.  He  said  to 
himself,  "  I  will  use  magic  and  pass  over,"  whereupon 
he  flew  over  as  a  goose. 

The  Baby — Mrs.  Devil  had  five  hundred  sons,  who 
were  cannibals,  and  especially  fond  of  children  as  an 
article  of  diet.  The  suffering  parents  came  to  Buddha, 
who  caught  her  youngest  son,  whom  she  loved  most  of 
all,  and  put  him  in  a  rice-bowl.  Mara's  wife  after  search- 
ing in  vain  for  seven  days  came  and  told  Buddha.  The 
latter  said,  "  You  have  five  hundred  sons,  why  go  mourn- 
ing and  sorrowing  after  this  one  ?  Others  have  only 
three  or  five."  After  awhile  Buddha  told  her  if  she 
would  promise  to  stop  the  practice  of  eating  other 
people's  little  children  she  might  have  her  boy.  The 
fond  mother  promised.  He  then  showed  her  the  baby- 
devil  in  a  cage,  and  she  called  her  four  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  sons  to  take  him  out.  Their  united  efforts 
were  unavailing,  and  at  last  she  appealed  to  Buddha  to 
turn  the  little  fellow  loose.  Mrs.  Devil  leading  little 
baby-devil  by  the  hand  is  sometimes  seen  in  the  temples 
standing  near  Buddha. 

Nanda. — The  younger  brother  of  Buddha  was  named 
Nanda.     Buddha  went  to  his  house,  shaved  his  head,  and 


i8o         TJie  Dragon,   Image,  and  Demon. 

made  him  a  priest.  Nanda,  however,  kept  thinking  about 
his  sweetheart  and  drawing  her  picture  on  the  tiles,  and 
one  day  when  his  elder  brother  w^as  out  he  ran  away. 
Buddha  followed ;  Nanda  dodged  behind  a  tree  ;  Buddha 
caused  the  tree  to   be   lifted   up  and  caught  him.     He 


-^\u^ 


Paradise  and  Tartarus. 


took  him  up  to  heaven  and  showed  him  the  sights. 
In  one  palace  there  were  ladies  only.  Nanda  asked, 
"  Why  only  ladies  and  no  men  ?  "  An  angel  told  him 
this  palace  was  reserved  specially  for  him.  Nanda  ex- 
claimed, "  Let  me  stay  now  ;  I  do  want  to  stay  so  much." 
'"Oh  no!"  said  the  ladies,    ''we  are  heavenly;  you  "are 


Bnddha,  the  Night  of  Asia.  1 8 1 

of  the  earth  ;  finish  your  mortal  existence,  and  then  you 
may  be  born  in  heaven." 

Shakyamuni  then  led  little  Bud  to  hell,  where  he  saw 
caldrons  of  boiling  oil  and  men  cooking  in  them ;  one 
very  hot  was  empty.  Nanda  asked,  "  Who  is  this  for  ?  " 
jNIara's  attendants  replied,  "  For  Nanda,  because  he  will 
not  be  a  priest."  Nanda  said  to  Buddha,  "  Oh  !  do  not 
talk  to  me  about  heaven  ;  just  let  me  escape  this,"  and 
ever  after  the  yoke  of  the  priesthood  was  an  easy  one  to 
him. 

The  Monastery  of  Jeta's  Garden. — Several  in- 
cidents in  the  life  of  the  World-Honoured  sage  show 
that  his  boasted  asceticism  was  at  times  in  a  measure 
limited. 

Shakya  was  invited  to  Shravasti.  He  said  to  the  rich 
noble  who  asked  him,  "  You  have  no  good  house  for  me." 
"  I  will  build  you  one,'"  said  he.  Shakya  sends  a  priest 
with  him,  and  they  select  Jeta's  garden  as  the  choicest 
locality.  The  price  asked  by  the  owner  was,  "  Pave  it 
with  gold."  The  nobleman  paves  it,  all  save  a  small 
plot.  A  monastery  is  built,  and  King  Prasenajit  receives 
Buddha.  This  place  is  famous  in  Buddhist  annals  as  one 
of  the  seats  of  the  new  school  of  religion.  Another 
incident  of  the  same  kind  will  be  given. 

The  Feast. — A  father  every  twelfth  moon  and  eighth 
day  gave  Buddha  and  his  disciples  a  feast.  On  his 
death  bed  he  enjoined  upon  his  son  to  keep  up  the  custom. 
Towards  the  time  Buddha  sent  a  priest  to  inquire  about 
the  prospects.  The  son  was  poor,  but  he  sent  word, 
"  Come  on,"  and  borrowed  one  hundred  gold  cash  from 
his  wife's  relatives  and  gave  the  dinner.     Buddha  blessed 


I82 


The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


him.  The  next  morning  he  found  the  coin  restored  in 
his  money  chest. 

For  Buddha's  teachings  about  women,  see  Chapter  XVI. 

The  Parrot  and  the  Bull. — The  parrot-king  asks 
Buddha  to  spend  a  night  in  his  grove,  and  on  receiving 


The  Parrots'  Grove. 

his  assent  went  back  and  told  all  the  parrots  to  prepare 
to  meet  him.  The  talking-birds  flew  around  all  night, 
and  there  were  no  lions,  tigers,  or  wolves  to  trouble 
Buddha.  The  next  night  the  parrot  who  gave  the  in- 
vitation died  and  went  to  heaven.  He  returned  again  to 
worship  Buddha  and  to  receive  instruction. 


Buddha,  the  Night  of  Asia. 


At  another  time,  Shakya  went  near  a  pond  where 
there  were  five  hundred  water-buffaloes  and  five  hundred 
cow-boys.  The  latter  called  to  the  passer-by  not  to  go 
that  way,  as  there  was  a  mad  bull.  The  animal  rushed 
at  Shakya  with  a  furious  roaring.  Shakya's  fingers 
became  five  lions.  A  circle  of  fire  was  around  the  water- 
buffalo,  and  there  was  no  escape.  He  came  and  licked 
Buddha's  feet  and  worshipped;  he  died  that  night  and 
went  to  heaven. 

Faith — Buddha  preached  to  five  hundred  families  of 
fishermen,  but  they  would  not  believe.  He  kept  his  seat, 
but  duplicated  himself  into  another  man  who  walked  across 
the  river  towards  them.  The  fishermen  asked  him  how 
he  did  it.  He  said,  "The  people  on  the  other  bank  told 
me  Buddha  was  here,  and  that  the  water  was  only  ankle 
deep.  I  believed  what  they  said  and  found  it  true." 
Buddha  praised  the  man,  and  said  this  stream  was  only 
a  few  miles  wide,  but  that  faith  would  carry  one  across 
the  gulf  of  life  and  death. 

Visits  Heaven. — Once,  while  speaking  on  a  mountain 
in  Ceylon,  he  was  said  to  have  been  baptized  with  fire 
from  heaven. 

Not  only  did  he  travel  throughout  India  and  Ceylon,  but 
he  also  went  to  heaven  and  preached  to  the  star  divinities 
and  all  the  assembly  of  the  gods.  He  said  if  the  evil 
stars  send  disease  or  pestilence  upon  mortals  let  the 
people  chant  as  follows  (Sanscrit) :  and  eighty  thousand 
curses  will  become  eighty  thousand  blessings.  He 
remained  in  heaven  three  months,  and  his  light  darkened 
the  stars. 

Images. — When  Buddha  was  paying  this  lengthy  visit 


1 84         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


to  heaven,  and  enjoying  the  society  of  his  mother,  the  king 
of  Oujein  missed  him  so  greatly  that  he  made  an  image 
of  Buddha.  An  angel  announced  the  fact  in  the  celestial 
regions,  and  on  three  pairs  of  stairs  a  heavenly  host 
accompanied  him  on  his  descensioii.     The  king  brought 


The  Image- Maker. 


on  his  head  the  image,  and  when  it  was  presented  to 
Buddha  it  shook  hands  at  him  whom  it  represented. 
Buddha  formally  addressed  the  image  :  "After  my  decease 
you  will  do  great  things.  I  give  my  disciples  into  your 
hands."  Then  standing  on  the  lower  step  of  the  heavenly 
stairway  he  turned  to  the  king  of  Oujein  and  said,  "There 


Buddha,  tJie  Night  of  Asia.  185 

is  no  one  like  you  bringing  gain  and  happiness  on  all 
creatures."  The  Eegent  of  the  skies  then  spoke  to  the 
king  and  said,  "  When  Buddha  was  in  heaven  he  was 
praising  the  image-maker."  Buddha  again  spoke,  "  Any 
one  who  makes  an  image,  even  a  finger's  length,  of  gold, 
silver,  brass,  iron,  stone,  earth,  wood,  glue,  varnish,  em- 
broidery, silk,  or  incense ;  or  who  will  cut,  mould,  sew,  or 
paint  Buddha's  image,  will  have  all  blessings  and  escape 
all  sins."  This  is  the  second  and  great  commandment  of 
Buddhism. 

Relics. — Two  merchants  visited  Shakya.  "  Oh ! 
Buddha,  we  are  about  to  separate  from  you,  what  shall  we 
venerate  as  an  object  of  worship  ?  "  He  stroked  his  head, 
and  some  of  the  short  hairs  adhered  to  his  fingers,  which 
he  gave  to  the  merchants,  saying,  "  Take  these  hairs 
with  you."  When  the  brother-merchants  received  the 
hairs  they  were  very  joyful,  and  proceeded  on  their 
journey. 

Ananda  asks,  "  At  your  death  what  shall  we  do  with 
the  relics  ?  "  Shaky amuni  replies,  "  My  body  shall  be 
divided  like  mustard-seed,  and  one  part  must  be  given 
to  heaven,  one  to  the  dragons,  and  one  to  the  spirits." 
He  gives  minute  directions  about  his  coffin  and  the 
cremation  with  sandal-wood,  which  the  angels  would 
bring.  The  relics  were  to  be  gathered,  put  in  seven 
precious  bottles,  and  seven  pagodas  built.  These  relics 
would  make  heaven  and  earth  "  a  happy  field." 

After  his  death  eight  Indian  kings  quarrelled  over  the 
relics,  but  the  Devas  decided  that  they,  the  dragons  and 
the  kings,  must  have  equal  shares. 

Death. — The  time  drew  nigh  for  the  aged  Patriarch, 


1 86         The  Dragon,  hnage,  and  Demon. 

toiling  under  the  weight  of  fourscore  years,  to  die.  His 
last  days  were  full  of  preaching  and  itinerating.  The  last 
night  he  spoke  to  a  number  of  kings  who  came  to  pay 
their  farewell  respects.  Then  he  asked  that  a  celebrated 
heretic  be  admitted,  discoursed  at  length  to  him,  and  saw 
him  inducted  into  the  priest's  office.  Eight  million 
priests  were  assembled  at  Benares,  and  when  he  told  them 
of  his  decease,  shortly  to  be  accomplished,  tears  flowed 
like  rain.  Devas,  dragons,  and  devils  came  and  asked 
him  not  to  die.  He  exhorted  the  priests  to  keep  his 
commandments,  not  to  be  entangled  with  business,  and 
to  have  nothing  to  do  with  divination. 

His  bed  was  placed  in  a  group  of  eight  Sala  trees,  and 
lying  on  his  right  side  with  his  head  resting  on  his  hand,  as 
represented  in  the  Japanese  temples,  he  spoke  his  farewell 
words  :  "  My  beloved  sons,  if  any  priest  becomes  unsteady 
and  backslides  from  Buddha,  the  Law,  and  the  Church, 
remember  me,  have  me  before  your  eyes,  and  do  not  be 
discouraged."  He  added,  ''  My  beloved  priests,  if  you 
continue  to  retain  your  reverence  for  me,  tell  it  to  your 
acquaintance  and  friends."  Ananda  said,  "  Oh  !  Buddha, 
in  all  this  vast  assembly  there  is  not  one  priest  who  has 
any  doubt,  therefore  they  all  love  and  have  regard  for 
you."  The  last  words  he  ever  spoke  were,  "  My  beloved 
priests,  the  state  of  being  (existence)  leads  to  destruction ; 
do  you  remember  this,  do  not  forget  this,  I  charge  you." 

Ananda  asked  a  priest,  "  Has  Buddha  gone  to  Nirvana  ?  " 
and  was  answered,  "  He  has  not  yet  gone,  he  has  only 
entered  on  that  state  where  all  pain  ceases ;  "  thus  from 
one  state  of  contemplation  to  another,  corresponding  to 
the  tiers  of  the  heavens,  he  entered  Nirvana. 


Bttdd/ia,   tJic  Night  of  Asia. 


187 


Cremation. — When  he  died  the  trees  grew  white,  the 
earth  quaked,  the  sea  rolled  mud,  the  rivers  became  dry, 
the  wind  blew  eand,  and  heaven  and  earth  wept. 

His  mother  falls  from  heaven,  and  when  she  recovers 
from   the   effects  of  the  shock,  the   coffin  lid  opens,  and 


Buddha  sits  up  like  the  lion  king  emerging  from  his  den, 
and  from  the  pores  of  his  skin  pour  forth  rajs  of  light 
which  are  transformed  into  thousands  of  Buddhas.  He 
comforts  Maya. 

The  generous  citizens  of  Benares  make  a  gold  coffin  for 
Buddha,  but  four,  eight,   and    sixteen  coolies   could   not 


1 88         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

move  it.  The  Devas  cause  it  to  rise,  it  flies  over  the 
city,  then  travels  around  seven  times,  and  finally  settles 
on  the  funeral  pile. 

Kashiapa,  who  received  the  Popedom  of  the  Buddhist 
Church,  arrives   after  the   decease  of  his  master,  who  in 


The  Feet. 


token  of  recognition  sticks  his  feet  through  the  coffin. 
Kashiapa  rubbed  them  and  wept.  The  attempts  to  fire 
the  sandal  wood  were  unsuccessful  till  fire  went  out  of 
Buddha's  body  ;  the  process  of  cremation  was  gradually 
completed,  and  the  shades  of  night  gathered  thick  o'er 
Asia's  millions. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   ORIENTAL   BANYAN. 

Its  Importance. — The  children  of  Shem  occupy  the 
largest  of  the  continents,  and  nearly  one-half  the 
population  of  Asia  is  influenced  by  the  teachings  and  rites 
of  Buddhism.  A  system  that  has  existed  for  two  and  a 
half  millenniums,  and  has  succeeded  in  drawing  into  the 
meshes  of  its  Church  organisation  a  large  proportion  of 
the  human  family,  and  sways  at  this  time  the  hearts  of 
so  many  millions,  is  worthy  of  attentive  consideration. 
''  The  history  of  eastern  Asia  is  the  history  of  Buddhism." 
Starting  in  India,  it  las  spread  over  Central  Asia,  Ceylon, 
Burmah,  Siam,  Annam,  Japan,  and  China.  How  like  the 
Banyan,  their  religious  tree,  which  spreads  out  its  branches 
over  hillside  and  valley,  and  drops  down  a  twig  which 
itself  takes  root,  and  becomes  a  mighty  trunk,  stretching 
out  its  arms  over  the  plain  ;  thus  one  unique  tree 
becomes  a  forest  of  foliage,  shutting  out  the  face  of  the 
sun,  so  that  those  who  dwell  underneath  feel  none  of  the 
warmth  and  see  none  of  the  light  which  comes  down  from 
heaven  !  Arnold  says,  "  Forests  of  flowers  are  daily  laid 
upon  his  stainless  shrines,  and  countless  millions  of  lips 
daily  repeat  the  formula,  '  I  take  my  refuge  in  Buddha.' " 
He  gave,  however,  unbridled  license  to  his  fancies  when 


iQO         The  D I 'agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

he  penned  the  lines,  "  In  point  of  age,  therefore,  most 
other  creeds  are  youthful  compared  with  this  venerable 
religion,  which  has  in  it  the  eternity  of  a  universal  hope, 
the  immortality  of  a  boundless  love,  an  indestructible 
element  of  faith  in  final  good,  and  the  proudest  asser- 
tion  EVER   MADE    OF   HUMAN   FREEDOM." 

The  Missionary  Spirit. — For  two  centuries  Buddhism 
made  little  progress,  but  after  the  invasion  of  India  by 
Alexander  the  Great  the  new  faith  was  patronized.  King 
Ashoka,  the  Constantine  of  the  Buddhist  Church,  B.C.  250, 
established  the  first  "  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  "  (Dharma 
Mahamatra),  which  sent  forth  enthusiastic  preachers,  who, 
''  aided  by  Ashoka's  political  and  diplomatic  influence," 
went  clad  in  rags  and  with  the  alms-bowl  in  hand  to  all 
the  surrounding  countries.  The  King  set  an  example  by 
sending  his  own  son  as  a  missionary  to  Ceylon,  and  forth- 
with the  whole  island  embraced  the  faith.  "  Thenceforth 
every  caravan  of  traders  that  left  India  for  Central  Asia 
was  accompanied  by  Buddhist  missionaries."  There  was 
no  mountain  too  high,  no  plain  too  broad,  no  desert  too 
barren,  for  these  indefatigable  zealots ;  they  went  every- 
where, teaching  the  doctrines  of  Buddha.  At  this  early 
day  eighteen  Buddhist  monks  reached  China,  but  failed 
to  plant  their  religion. 

Its  Fate  in  India. — Strange  to  say,  the  land  of  its 
birth  was  not  the  home  of  its  manhood,  for  it  was  trans- 
planted to  other  countries,  and  is  now  almost  unknown 
in  India.  In  the  second  century  B.C.  the  Buddhist  Church 
there  was  almost  destroyed  by  persecution,  "  but  this 
very  persecution  gave  a  renewed  impetus  to  Foreign 
Missions,  and  soon  the  priests  gained  a  lasting  foothold 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  191 

among  the  Tartar  tribes,"  just  as  the  persecution  after 
the  death  of  Stephen  caused  the  scattered  Christians  to 
go  everywhere  preaching  the  word. 

Introduction  into  China — The  sacred  books  of  this 
religion  all  agree  in  stating  that  the  Emperor  Mingte 
(a.d.  61),  in  the  visions  of  the  night  beheld  "an  image 
of  gigantic  proportions,  resplendent  as  gold,"  and  that  he 
despatched  an  embassy  to  go  westward  in  search  of  this 
new  religion.  Whether  this  is  true,  or  whether  it  was 
because  in  the  campaigns  of  Central  Asia  the  armies 
brought  an  image  of  Buddha,  or  whether  reports  had 
come  that  a  mighty  personage  had  appeared  in  Judea, 
we  know  not,  but,  it  is  said,  the  embassy  returned 
accompanied  by  an  Indian  priest,  and  bringing  "  The 
Sutra  of  forty-two  sections."  Buddhism,  invited  by  the 
Emperor,  made  an  easy  entrance  into  this  country. 

Europe  and  Asia. — The  Buddhist  monks  travelled 
to  China  in  the  apostolic  era.  While  they  went  eastward, 
Paul  and  his  companions  journeyed  westward.  Western 
Europe  became  Christian  and  P^astern  Asia  Buddhistic. 
The  soil  was  just  as  productive  along  the  Pacific  as  on 
the  Atlantic,  and  success  attended  the  efforts  to  introduce 
the  two  religions.  On  the  one  hand,  the  first  system 
has  had  to  contend  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  empires  and 
ages  dark  in  human  learning ;  the  latter  has  been  sup- 
ported by  a  stable  government,  and  has  flourished  amidst 
a  people  devoted  to  letters.  Judging  a  tree  by  its  fruits, 
what  are  the  comparative  results  to  the  two  continents  in 
the  four  departments  of  religion,  education,  philanthropy, 
and  progress  ?     Let  the  reader  answer. 

Its  slow  Growth — The  Chinese  of  the  Han  dynasty 


192         TJie  Dragon^  Image,  and  Demon. 

did  not  receive  the  new  faith  with  open  arms,  but  gra- 
dually it  wormed  itself  into  favour.  The  first  step  was 
translation  ;  after  that  the  monks  were  engaged  in 
preaching,  in  collecting  funds,  in  conducting  religious 
services,  and  in  building  monasteries.  The  pioneer  work 
was  a  slow  and  tedious  process,  for  this  conservative 
people  looked  on  the  swarthy  Indians  with  suspicion,  and 
could  not  see  the  practical  advantages  of  the  music  of 
the  gong  and  drum,  of  the  fumes  of  incense,  and  lighting 
candles  in  the  day.  "  It  took  three  hundred  years  before 
Buddhism  obtained  official  recognition,  and  centuries 
more  before  the  mass  of  the  people  was  influenced  by 
it."     There  are  some  points  to  be  noted  : 

1.  Buddhism  is  a  foreign  religion,  yet  success  at- 
tended its  introduction ;  and  has  not  Christianity  a 
hundredfold  the  advantage  ? 

2.  It  was  by  preaching  the  doctrines  of  the  "  lion  of 
the  law  "  that  Buddhism  was  made  known,  and  has  not 
the  proclamation  of  the  Grospel  of  the  "Lamb  that  was 
slain  "  a  mightier  power  ?  '  - 

3.  It  took  over  three  hundred  years  for  this  vine  from 
India  to  take  root,  and  many  more  hundred  years  before 
it  covered  the  land, — is  not  this  an  incentive  to  "  long 
patience  "  ? 

4.  "  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  upwards 
of  3,000  foreign  priests  were  living  in  China,"  and  why 
does  not  the  Church,  the  Church  Universal,  give  us 
3,000  ordained  men  to  go  two  and  two  to  each  city  in 
this  land  ? 

The  Emperors.— A.D.  61.  Mingte  sent  the  embassy 
which   brought    the    priest,    the    image,    and    the    book. 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  193 

A.D.  405,  the  p]mperor  "  gave  a  high  office  to  Kumaiajiva, 
an  Indian  Buddhist,  and  he  was  commanded  to  transhite 
the  sacred  books,  and  at  the  present  day  his  name  may 
be  seen  on  the  first  page  of  the  principal  classics."  "  More 
than  800  priests  were  called  to  assist,  and  the  king  him- 
self, an  ardent  disciple,  was  present  at  the  Conference, 
holding  the  old  copies  in  his  hand  as  the  work  of  cor- 
rection proceeded."  In  a.d.  527,  "  the  Emperor  was  so 
zealous  a  promoter  of  Buddhism  that  he  became  a  monk 
and  entered  a  monastery  at  Nanking."  A.D.  558,  an 
emperor  of  the  Leang  dynasty,  named  Wute,  commonly 
called  Leang  Wute,  became  a  monk  and  died  of  starva- 
tion. In  the  year  760,  Taetsung  ordered  a  high  stage 
to  be  erected  for  reciting  "  The  Sutra  of  the  Benevolent 
King,"  maintained  many  monks,  and  joined  in  the  worship 
of  hungry  spirits.  I-tsung,  who  ascended  the  throne  860, 
was  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Buddhist  books.  During 
all  these  centuries  the  emperors  frequently  appointed 
tens  of  thousands  to  the  priesthood.  A.D.  1300,  the 
Emperor  used  3,900  ounces  of  gold  in  having  the  sacred 
books  transcribed  in  characters  of  gold,  and  in  1321 
Yingtsung  had  over  300  tons  of  copper  melted  to  make 
images  and  shrines.  The  Emperor  Shunche,  1644, 
became  a  monk  on  the  Soochow  hills.  The  distinguished 
Ka'nghe,  200  years  ago,  gave  the  yellow  porcelain  tiles 
now  so  conspicuous  on  the  roofs  of  the  great  temples  at 
Pootoo,  and  wrote  the  celebrated  letter  to  the  priests. 
'*  The  last  century,  the  Emperor  Keenlung  gave  the 
palace  of  his  grandfather  at  Hangchow  to  the  Buddhists 
to  be  a  monastery."  "  A  thousand  volumes  of  Buddhist 
literature  were  published  by  the  government  with  public 

13 


194         ^^^^  Dragon^  Image,  and  Demon. 


funds,  and  numberless  prefaces  to  Buddhist  works  have 
been  written  by  Emperors."  These  are  a  few  specimens 
of  the  favour  given  to  the  Indian  religion  by  the  rulers 
of  China. 

Confucian  Opposition — During  eighteen  centuries 
Confucianism  has  maintained  a  determined  opposition  to 
the  new  faith,  bringing  its  absence  of  religion  to  bear 
against  the  ritual  of  Buddhism,  and  placing  its  practical 
philosophy  in  contrast  with  the  fine-spun  theories  of  the 
Indian  sage.  Discussions  were  held  between  the  B.'s  and 
C.'s  in  the  presence  of  emperors,  the  latter  "  putting  forth 
their  best  literary  efforts  to  nullify  the  influence  "  of  the 
former,  and  every  new  century  has  seen  new  works  issued 
condemning  Buddhism.  The  majority  of  the  Confu- 
cianists  consider  "  its  history,  followers,  and  dogmas  as 
all  equally  hateful."  They  objected  to  the  religion  on 
the  ground  of  political  economy, — that  "  the  priests  eat 
the  bread  of  idleness  and  so  impoverish  the  State," 
"  while  outside  men  are  ploughing  and  women  are 
spinning."  The  leading  objection  was  that  the  celibacy 
of  the  monks,  setting  aside  the  relations  of  father  and 
mother,  husband  and  wife,  destroyed  the  family,  which 
was  the  miniature  of  the  State.  Their  sceptical  pens 
were  directed  against  the  doctrines  of  the  non-reality  of 
material  objects,  transmigration,  and  future  rewards  and 
punishments.  They  said,  "  The  people  were  led  to  neg- 
lect the  old  ways  taught  by  the  venerable  sages  of  anti- 
quity, which  had  shed  their  brightness  over  the  world, 
and  to  go  astray  in  the  new  paths  of  outlandish  error." 
,,  The  very  nature  of  monasticism  awoke  fears  in  the 
bosom    of  statesmen,  after    about   300   years,   when    the 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  195 

number  of  monks  and  nuns  was  very  great,  and  the 
abstraction  of  so  many  from  the  pursuits  of  agriculture 
and  other  industries  was  considered  an  evil." 

Persecutions, —The  first  general  persecution  was  a.d. 
426,  when  "  an  edict  was  issued,  in  accordance  with  which 
the  books  and  images  of  Buddhism  were  destroyed  and 
many  priests  put  to  death.  To  worship  foreign  divinities 
or  construct  images  of  earth  or  brass  was  made  a  capital 
crime."  The  second  was  in  458,  when  "  a  conspiracy  was 
detected  in  which  a  chief  party  was  a  Buddhist  priest." 
The  third,  a.d.  714,  when  12,000  "  priests  and  nuns  were 
obliged  by  a  despotic  government  to  return  to  the  com- 
mon world."  The  fourth,  in  845,  was  the  most  severe. 
''By  the  edict  of  the  Emperor  Wutsung,  4,600  monas- 
teries were  destroyed,  with  40,000  smaller  temples.  The 
property  of  the  sect  was  confiscated,  and  used  in  the 
erection  of  Grovernment  buildings.  The  copper  of  images 
and  bells  was  made  into  cash^  and  the  gold  and  silver 
images  sent  into  the  public  treasury.  More  than  260,000 
priests  and  nuns  were  compelled  to  return  to  common 
employments."  Buddhism  received  another  check  during 
the  fifth  general  persecution,  when  Shit  sung  closed 
30,000  establishments. 

The  Buddhist  Travellers. — "  The  earnestness  and 
vigour  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists  at  that  early  period  is 
shown  sufficiently  by  the  repeated  journeys  which  they 
made  along  the  tedious  and  dangerous  route  by  Central 
Asia  to  India.  Neither  religion  nor  the  love  of  seeing 
foreign  lands  are  now  enough,  unless  the  Emperor  com- 
mands it,  to  induce  any  of  the  educated  class  among  them 
to  leave  their  homes." 


196         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


A.D.  400,  Fahien  travelled  for  fifteen  years  through 
Tartary,  Afghanistan,  Central  Asia,  and  Ceylon,  and 
collected  the  sacred  books  ;  on  his  return  he  wrote  a  book 
of  travels.  ^'  The  extension  of  the  religion  that  was  then 
propagated  with  such  zeal  and  fervour  very  much  pro- 
moted the  mutual  intercourse  of  Asiatic  countries.  The 
road  between  Eastern  Persia  and  China  was  frequently 
traversed,  and  a  succession  of  Chinese  Buddhists  thus 
found  their  way  to  the  parent-land  of  the  legends  and 
superstitions  in  which  they  believed." 

In  629,  the  celebrated  Hieuntsang  set  out  on  his  six- 
teen years'  journey,  five  of  which  were  spent  in  studying 
Sanscrit  at  Magadha.  "  His  unconquerable  will,  his 
dauntless  pluck,  his  genius,  and,  above  all,  his  fervent  zeal 
and  purity  of  life,"  place  him  in  a  high  rank  among  men 
of  religious  enthusiasm.  His  life  and  travels,  with  many 
''  moving  incidents  "  and  "  hair-breadth  escapes,"  is  said 
to  be  quite  entertaining.  A  popular  romance,  with 
accounts  of  gods  and  goddesses,  fairies  and  demons,  is 
based  on  the  account  of  his  journeys.  Hieuntsang 
brought  with  him  "115  grains  of  relics  from  Buddha's 
chair,  a  gold  statue  of  Buddha  three  feet  three  inches 
high,"  and,  it  is  said,  657  books,  which  he  assisted  in 
translating.  This  was  a  favourable  period  for  Budd- 
hism. 

Pagodas  and  Relics. — The  primary  object  of  the 
pagoda  is  a  depository  for  the  relics  of  Buddha's  burnt 
body.  Shaky amuni  prophesied  that  King  Ashoka  would 
erect  80,000  pagodas  for  the  relics  which  are  objects  of 
reverential  worship  to  these  religionists. 

In  A.D.  819,  the  Emperor  sent  a  delegation  of  man- 


The  Oidciital  Banyan. 


'97 


darins  to  escort  a  bone  of  Buddha  to  the  capital.  This 
called  forth  from  the  distinguished  statesman,  Han  Wen- 
kung,  the  celebrated  "  Memorial  on  the  Bone  of  Buddha," 


Soochow  Pagoda. 

which  is  a  standard  document  among  the  Confucianists, 
and  for  which  he  was  banished.  He  was,  however,  after- 
wards recalled.     "  The  indignant  manner  in  which  Han 


198         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  De^non, 

Wenkung  speaks  of  the  supposed  finger-bone  of  Buddha 
is  worthy  of  being  imitated  by  all  foes  to  relic  worship." 
A  thousand  years  ago  this  Protestant  says,  "  Buddha  has 
been  dead  a  long  time,  and  here  was  the  Son  of  Heaven 
bringing  this  stinking  bone  of  a  dead  barbarian  into  the 
interior  of  his  palace.  There  was  not  even  the  preliminary 
ceremony  of  exorcising  the  noxious  demons  by  whisking 
them  out  with  branches  of  the  peach  and  lie  trees." 
Another  Confucianist  asks,  "  What  can  a  bone,  or  a  tooth, 
or  a  nail  do  for  living  men  ?  If  you  are  hungry  these 
things  cannot  feed  you,  if  cold,  they  cannot  clothe  you, 
and  if  sick,  they  cannot  cure  you." 

Confucianists  have  now  turned  the  pagoda  from  its 
original  design  into  regulators  of  Fungshuy,  or  the 
influences  of  the  wind  and  water,  by  which  they  obtain 
peace  and  prosperity,  longevity  and  posterity,  favourable 
seasons  and  flourishing  trade.  The  Soochow  Pagoda, 
erected  over  a  thousand  years  ago,  is  now  the  largest  in 
the  empire  ;  it  is  220  feet  in  height  and  60  feet  wide  at 
the  base,  tapering  up  to  4o  feet  in  the  ninth  story.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  an  octagon,  and  the  walls  are  eight  or  ten 
feet  thick.  There  is  a  double  wall,  or  a  pagoda  within  a 
pagoda,  the  steps  running  between,  and  as  the  visitor 
ascends  a  flight  of  stairs,  he  has  to  walk  around  before 
reaching  the  next  steps,  making  the  ascent  easy.  There 
are  seventy-two  doors,  opening  on  the  verandahs,  so  it  is  a 
tower  full  of  light,  and  from  every  point  there  are  beauti- 
ful views  of  the  mountains,  the  lakes,  and  the  green  fields  ; 
and  on  beholding  the  mighty  metropolis  at  the  feet, 
the  densely  peopled  plain,  and  the  four  cities  within 
sight,  the  thoughts  go  out  to  the  many  millions  within 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  199 

the  range  of  vision.  As  there  are  a  hundred  large  and 
twenty  small  images  in  the  pagoda,  in  every  niche  and 
facing  every  door,  and  eighty-one  idols  on  the  roof,  it  is 
a  high  tower  of  idolatry. 

The  Patriarchs. —  In  some  of  the  temples  two  men 
are  seen  standing  on  the  right  and  left  of  Buddiia,  one 
with  a  short  white  beard  and  the  other  with  a  smooth 
face ;  these  are  Kashiapa  and  Ananda,  the  two  first 
Patriarchs.  Kashiapa  was  the  head  of  a  ^ect  of  fire- 
worshippers,  numbering  five  hundred,  and  was  converted 
by  seeing  Buddha  put  the  dragon  into  the  rice-bowl, 
recorded  in  the  preceding  chapter  ;  his  followers  also  took 
Shakya  as  their  spiritual  guide.  It  is  said  he  was  the 
means  of  converting  20,000  to  the  Buddhist  faith.  To 
him  was  entrusted  "the  pure  secret  of  the  eye  of  doc- 
trine ;  "  its  symbol  U-j,  seen  on  the  breast  of  Buddha, 
means  10,000  ;  that  is,  he  is  in  the  "possession  of  10,000 
perfections."  This  symbol  was  the  "  monogram  of  Vishnu  " 
and  the  battle-axe  of  Thor,  the  Scandinavian  god  of 
thunder. 

The  other  image  represents  Ananda,  the  second  Patri- 
arch, whose  name  signifies  "joy,"  a  cousin  of  the  sage,  his 
constant  attendant  and  "  beloved  disciple."  He  never 
left  Buddha's  side,  who  always  spoke  of  him  and  to  him 
in  the  tenderest  manner.  He,  with  a  thousand  secretaries, 
wrote  down  the  dharma  or  law,  which  he  loved  to  hear, 
and  to  which  he  had  listened  so  attentively  that  it  was 
indelibly  impressed  upon  his  memory. 

Bodhidharma  was  the  twenty-eighth  and  last  of  the 
real  Patriarchs.  He  came  from  India  at  an  advanced  age, 
was  received  by  the  Emperor  at  Nanking,  and  afterwards 


200         The  Drao-on,  Imae;e,  and  Demon. 


sat  with  his  face  to  the  wall  for  nine  years,  and  was 
popularly  called,  "  The  wall-gazing  Brahman."  By  the 
name  of  Tamo  he  is  constantly  spoken  of  by  Buddhist 
priests.  He  discouraged  the  study  of  the  sacred  books, 
and  developed  the  mystic  phase  of  this  religion,  "  being 
wrapped  in  thought  while  surrounded  by  vacancy  and 
stillness."  His  picture  is  seen  as  he  crossed  the  Yangtse, 
walking  on  the  water  and  blowing  a  tall  pagoda  out  of  his 
mouth.  Ill  commemoration  of  this  event  he  is  wor- 
shipped by  the  boatmen  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of 
February. 

The  Schools. — Buddhism,  like  other  religions,  is 
divided  into  religious  sects  ;  their  lines  of  separation  are 
clearly  marked  in  Japan,  but  are  scarcely  perceptible  in 
China.  The  two  principal  schools  are  the  Hinayana  and 
Mahayana,  or  Schools  of  Small  and  Great  Conveyance. 
Buddha  is  said  to  have  thus  described  them  :  "  A  notable 
man's  house  took  fire.  He  brought  goat-carts,  drawn  by 
goats  and  deer,  to  rescue  his  sons.  He  afterwards  gave 
them  a  lofty,  broad  waggon,  drawn  by  white  bullocks. 
The  first  are  the  methods  of  the  Hinayana ;  the  last  that 
of  the  Mahayana  "  or  Grreat  Conveyance. 

The  Hinayana  school  represents  the  earlier  practical 
asceticism  of  Buddhism,  when  the  system  was  more 
religious  and  less  philosophical.  The  Mahayana  school 
was  developed  by  the  philosopher  Najardjuna,  "  one  of 
the  four  suns  which  illumine  the  world,"  wiio  favoured 
transcendental  speculation,  and  the  substitution  of  mys- 
ticism and  fanciful  contemplation  for  the  rigid  rites  of 
the  early  Church.  He  says,  "  The  soul  has  neither 
existence   nor   non-existence,    it   is   neither   eternal   nor 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  201 

non-eternal,  neither  annihilated  by  death  nor  non- 
annihilated." 

The  Canon. — Shakyamuni  left  his  teachings  in  oral 
form,  and,  handed  down  from  mouth  to  mouth,  there  were 
many  additions,  changes,  and  variations.  The  sacred 
books  were  published  as  the  authoritative  teachings  of 
Buddhism,  and  councils  were  held  to  settle  points  of  dis- 
pute, but  it  was  not  till  the  fifth  century  that  the  whole 
canon  was  compiled  and  published  in  Ceylon, — this,  1,000 
years  after  the  time  its  founder  died.  As  to  the  reception 
of  Buddhist  literature  into  China;  in  the  first  century 
the  monks  brought  a  few  books,  and  during  the  fourth  an 
embassy  was  sent  to  India  to  collect  works ;  the  travellers 
brought  many  volumes,  but  a  complete  collection  of  the 
Buddhist  scriptures  was  not  made  till  a.d.  1400.  What 
is  known  as  the  northern  canon,  the  canon  of  China  and 
Japan,  dates  a.d.  1600.  The  canon  of  our  Scriptures 
compares  favourably.  "The  Old  Testament  canon  was 
completed  in  the  time  of  Ezra ;  the  Xew  Testament 
canon  in  the  second  century."  "  Besides,  we  still  possess 
ancient  MSS.  of  the  New  Testament,  some  of  which  were 
written  one  hundred  years  before  the  first  edition  of  the 
Buddhist  scriptures  was  undertaken,  of  which  not  a  single 
ancient  MS.  has  withstood  the  ravages  of  time,  and 
which  has  never  yet  been  examined  critically  by  either 
friend  or  foe." 

The  Forge  of  Lies — As  the  Buddhists  suppose  that 
Ananda  held  in  memory  the  discourses  of  Buddha,  all. the 
sacred  books  begin  "  Thus  have  I  heard  "  (equivalent  in 
the  Bible  to  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord "),  as  thus  he  heard 
Buddha  speak.     The  wholesale  interpolations  are  seen  by 


202         The  Di^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


the  references  in  Buddha's  sermons  to  Amita,  who  was  un- 
known for  centuries ;  to  Kwanyin,  a  divinity  of  later  date ; 
to  King  Ashoka,  to  the  king  of  Hades,  and  to  the  island  of 
PootoOj  where  Buddhism  was  planted  1,500  years  after  his 
time.  During  the  succeeding  centuries  clever  priests 
would  write  a  book  and  palm  it  off  as  if  from  the  pen  of 
the  sage,  and  Buddhist  writers,  no  matter  at  how  late  a 
day,  must  have  the  Master's  imprimatur.  Suppose  that 
the  followers  of  Luther,  in  all  the  ramifications  of  Grerman 


Sand- Waiter. 

theological  speculation,  were  to  issue  their  works  as  if 
they  were  simply  the  stenographic  reporters  who  delivered 
verbatim  the  discourses  of  the  great  reformer,  and  that 
the  books  represented  Luther  as  their  author!  This 
claiming  for  Buddha  the  authorship  of  the  sacred  books 
stamps  Buddhism  as  a  system  of  falsehoods. 

The  religious,  and  many  of  the  moral  books  of  the 
Chinese,  are  received  from  the  gods  by  a  sand-waiter  or 
kmd  of  planchette.     In  a  room,  where  there  are  images. 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  203 


pictures,  and  incense,  on  a  table,  is  placed  a  waiter  with 
sand  in  it.  From  the  beam  hangs  a  rope  with  a  hori- 
zontal rod,  to  which  is  attached  a  vertical  stick,  and 
to  this  a  bird  is  frequently  fastened,  in  whose  mouth  is 
suspended  a  pen  with  an  iron  point.  The  literary  men, 
who  seek  an  oracular  response,  hold  the  ends  of  the 
horizontal  rod,  and  when  the  god  or  Immortal  comes, 
there  is  first  a  verse,  then  perhaps  an  answer  or  a  pre- 
scription, or  sometimes  a  book,  written  character  after 
character  by  the  imperceptible  movements  of  the  hand. 
A  third  party  copies  on  paper,  and  thus  religious  books 
are  manufactured. 

The  Sutra  a  Fetish. — A  fetish  is  described  as  a 
material  object,  regarded  as  possessing  supernatural 
powers  and  influences,  which  may  be  controlled  by  the 
person  possessing  the  object.  Fetishism  is  practised 
not  only  in  Africa  and  Oceania,  but  also  in  Asia,  one 
form  of  it  being  seen  in  the  Indian  religion  by  the  super- 
stitious regard  which  a  Buddhist  bestows  upon  his  Sutra 
or  prayer-book.  It  wards  off  sickness,  cures  disease, 
insures  prosperity,  and  to  chant  the  words  is  a  panacea 
for  every  evil.  The  book  may  be  a  family  heirloom,  and 
is  looked  upon  as  an  object  of  veneration. 

Christian  Ideas. —  It  may  occur  to  the  reader,  that 
in  the  name  of  Buddha's  mother,  in  some  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  his  birth,  in  the  temptations  of  Mara, 
in  the  offerings  of  the  Eastern  merchants,  and  in  some 
of  the  incidents  of  his  life,  there  is  a  similarity  to  the 
Gospel  narratives.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  "  most 
ancient  Buddhistic  books  contain  scarcely  any  details  of 
Buddha's  life,  and  none  whatever  of  these  events."     Also 


204         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  D^ 


emon. 


none  of  these  legends  can  be  proved  to  have  existed 
before  the  fifth  or  sixth  centuries  of  our  era,  1,100 
years  after  the  death  of  Shakyamuni.  Again,  before 
this  time  the  Nestorians  had  reached  Central  Asia,  and 
"  true  to  its  eclectic  instincts  Buddhism  adopted  many 
Christian  ideas,  traditions,  and  ceremonies,"  and  this 
fully  accounts  for  any  similarity  between  the  Indian  and 
Judean  narratives.  The  resemblance  is  especially  seen 
in  the  Buddhism  of  Thibet. 

Its  Tolerant  Spirit — The  followers  of  the  Arabian 
prophet  made  their  conquests  by  the  sword,  and  the 
Moslem  faith  kindles  the  fiercest  passions  of  men. 
Buddhism  is  the  antipodes  of  Mahommedanism.  It  has 
no  system  of  truth  for  the  defence  of  which  its  votaries 
must  lay  down  their  lives,  and  though  their  idolatry  is 
denounced  as  false  and  abominable,  the  Buddhist  meets 
us  with  a  smile.  As  the  Chinese  often  say  in  the 
chapels,  "  We  say  your  religion  is  good,  and  ours  is 
good  too,  but  you  say  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  the 
only  true  religion ;  we  do  not  think  you  are  as  polite  as 
we  are ; "  and  on  the  score  of  politeness  we  have  to 
acknowledge  that  they  deserve  the  medal.  "  Imprinted 
upon  Buddhism  by  the  master  hand  of  Shakyamuni  is 
the  spirit  of  thorough  liberality  and  absolute  tolerance, 
which  has  marked  its  early  rise  and  progress,  and  which 
enabled  it  to  adopt  the  most  valuable  ideas  of  all 
religions  it  came  in  contact  with,  to  enter  into  a  com- 
promise with  almost  every  form  of  popular  superstition, 
and  to  found  and  maintain  a  church  without  persecuting 
a  single  heretic." 

Beneficial  Effects.— Though  Buddhism   is  the  most 


The  Oriental  Banyan.  205 

gigantic  system  of  idolatry  on  the  earth,  yet  in  the 
absence  of  the  true  it  has  been  beneficial  to  eastern 
Asia.  It  is  much  better  to  have  a  false  religion  than 
to  have  no  religion  at  all.  Men  in  Christian  lands  who 
"  care  for  none  of  these  things "  are  in  a  worse  con- 
dition than  the  devout  pagan.  Through  Buddhism, 
"  countries  and  peoples  shut  out  by  mountains  and  deserts 
were  brought  under  the  influence  of  morality,"  and 
barbarous  tribes  ''  were  brought  into  a  state  of  semi- 
civilisation,  which  is  the  more  apparent  if  we  consider 
in  what  a  savage  state  all  those  tribes  remained  which 
rejected  Buddhism." 

The  benefits  are  most  apparent  in  China.  Its  great 
sage  "  clung  to  the  physical,  the  seen,  and  the  temporal 
with  a  tenacious  grasp."  He  took  not  into  account  that 
a  reliance  upon  the  unseen  was  the  only  possible  condi- 
tion of  the  soul,  and  built  no  temple  into  which  the 
people  could  cany  their  affections  and  religious  instincts ; 
and  so  through  the  gap  which  Confucius  left  Buddhism 
entered.  "The  Chinese  in  this  system  found  objects  to 
adore  of  mysterious  grandeur;  and  processions,  the  ringing 
of  bells,  the  fumes  of  sweet-smelling  incense,  prayers, 
chants,  and  music,  were  aids  to  their  devotion."  What 
if  for  these  2,000  years  China  had  been  left  with  the 
cold  philosophy  of  the  sage !  Its  condition  would  have 
been  tenfold  worse,  Confucianism  has  held  up  morality 
before  the  people ;  Buddhism  has  kept  the  flame  of 
religion  burning  on  the  altar  of  their  hearts.  The  trans- 
lators of  Christian  books  are  indebted  to  Buddhism  for 
much  of  their  religious  phraseology. 

Revival  of  Buddhism. — For  the  ten  years   previous 


2o6         The  Dragon,  Image^  and  Deinon. 

to  1864  the  T'aiping  insurrectionists  swept  through 
several  of  the  provinces,  laying  waste  its  fields  and 
razing  the  cities.  They  were  iconoclasts,  destroying 
every  monastery,  breaking  to  pieces  every  idol,  and 
putting  the  priests  to  the  sword,  so  that  twenty  years 
ago  an  opportunity  was  given  to  the  Church  to  enter 
a  land  almost,  it  might  be  said,  without  a  religion,  a 
temple,  a  priesthood,  or  an  altar. 

The  monks  commenced  the  work  of  rebuilding,  and  it 
went  on  slowly  for  many  years,  but  during  the  last  two 
years  in  Soochow,  as  well  as  many  other  places,  there  has 
been  a  revival  of  idolatry.  It  is  seen  in  the  rapid  rebuild- 
ing and  repairing  of  nunneries,  monasteries,  and  temples, 
and  the  general  air  of  prosperity  attending  these  sacred 
places.  Many  small  buildings  were  unknown  to  foreigners 
as  temple  property  till  they  saw  new  halls  being  erected. 
The  priests,  both  Buddhist  and  Taoist,  now  command 
much  money,  and  the  work  they  do  is  far  more  conspic- 
uous and  substantial  than  what  is  done  on  private  dwell- 
ings. For  centuries  the  priests  feared  to  invest  money  on 
Pootoo,  the  sacred  isle  of  the  Pacific,  but  since  foreign 
commerce  has  driv^en  piracy  from  the  seas  the  revival  of 
Buddhism  and  its  enterprise  in  the  erection  of  beautiful 
temples  is  there  specially  manifest,  and  before  many 
years,  throughout  the  devastated  sections  of  the  empire, 
temples  and  pagodas  will  lift  their  towering  heads. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  THEOLOGY  OF  BUDDHISM, 

rr^HE  leading  tenets  of  the  system  will  be  presented 
-^    very  briefly. 

Buddhism  is  Atheistic — This  seems  to  be  a 
strange  charge  to  make  against  a  religion  where  there 
are  "  gods  many,  and  lords  many  ; "  yet  in  the  midst 
of  its  outward  polytheism  theoretical  Buddhism  is  god- 
less, a  system  of  atheism.  "  Before  Buddhism  arose,  the 
thinking  minds  of  India  saw 

The  universe  as  one  stupendous  whole, 
Whose  body  nature  is,  and  God  the  soul." 

From  the  great  Brahma,  the  uncreated  pantheistic  deity, 
who  pervades  all  existence  as  the  life  pervades  the  body, 
the  whole  Universe  emanates,  and  into  this  Brahma  it 
will  at  last  be  reabsorbed.  Buddha  asked  Alara,  "  What 
becomes  of  the  Great  Brahma,  when  at  the  end  of  this 
kalpa,  this  heaven  and  earth  .  .  .  are  entirely  destroyed, — 
where  then  is  your  Creator  ?  "  "  The  idea  of  a  Creator  is 
nowhere  mentioned  by  Buddha;  in  the  course  of  his 
religious  disputations  with  the  Brahmanshe  combats  their 
notions  of  a  god,  coolly  establishing  the  most  crude 
atheism."  Buddha  prefeiTed  the  law  of  revolution, — a 
Universe  rising  into  existence  and  moving  onward  in  its 


2o8         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


course  till  it  completes  the  circle,  then  undergoing  a 
process  of  dissolution,  and  after  that  reconstructed  for  a 
new  career,  and  thus  again  and  again  in  eternal  succession 
as  one  kalpa  ends  and  another  begins.* 

"A  wise  man  can  never  be  born  in  the  abode  of 
Brahma  "  say  the  Buddhist  cosmogonists,  "  for  that  deity 
asserts  that  he  can  create  heaven,  earth,  and  all  things. 
He  being  so  ignorant  as  this,  no  wise  man  would  go  to 
live  in  his  heaven." 

Buddhism  knows  of  no  first  cause,  and  gives  no  answer 
to  the  question  how  the  Universe  came  into  existence  ;  yet 
over  two  thousand  years  ago  it  set  up  a  theory  not  unlike 
the  system  known  as  Darwinian,  save  that  the  latter  is 
adapted  to  modern  civilisation.  Many  of  the  modern 
atheistic  philosophers  "  have  drunk  more  or  less  of  the 
sweet  poison,  and  taken  as  kindly  as  an  Asiatic  to  the 
Buddhistic  opium  pipe."  Shakyamuni,  whom  the 
Buddhists  acknowledge  to  be  a  man,  is  exalted  to  the 
supreme  place  in  its  religious  worship.  It  is  the  worship 
of  an  idea  more  than  of  a  being,  as  the  theoretical 
Buddha  or  Buddhaship  is  not  so  much  a  god  as  a  stcde 
after  death,  a  state  to  which  all  may  attain.  In  this 
religion  "  there  is  the  inconsistency  of  worshipping  an 
extinct  being  such  as  Buddha  is  said  to  have  become  at 
his  death.''  To  be  resolved  into  Buddha  or  the  Buddha- 
hood  is  the  hope  of  the  worshipper,  so  in  reality  it  is  the 
adoration  of  a  vague  thought. 

*  A  kalpa  is  "  a  period  of  time  varying  from  a  few  hundred  to 
many  thousand  years,"  "  not  to  be  reckoned  by  months  and  days," 
"  a  period  during  which  a  physical  Universe  is  formed  and 
destroyed." 


The    Theology  of  DuddJiism. 


209 


Natural  Science — The  Buddhist  scriptures  "  have 
not  maintained  a  wise  reticence  about  natural  science." 
Mount  Sumeru,  upon  which  is  the  palace  of  Indra,  or  as 
it  is  called  in  Chinese,  "  the  thirty-three  heavens,"  in 
height  equal  to  168,000  yojanas,*  in  shape  like  an 
inverted  cone,  that  is,  the  base  above  and  standing  on 
its   apex,   is  situated   in   the  centre   of  the   world,    and 


Mount  Sumeru. 


beneath  (as  its  depth  in  the  sm  is  equal  to  its  altitude) 
are  the  innumerable  chambers  of  hell. 

To   show  the   ready  adaptability    of  Buddhism  to   its 
surroundings,    a    monk    in    Soochow    who    has    studied 


*  The    Yojana,    the   Buddhist   sacred   measure,    is   about   four 
miles. 


14 


2IO         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

geogi'apliy  sees  that  the  old  woodcuts  in  the  sacred  books 
of  this  central  mountain  will  not  answer  the  present 
advanced  ideas  about  our  globe,  so  he  has  issued  a  pictorial 
pamphlet,  resting  Mount  Sumeru  upon  the  north  pole, — 
rather  a  cold  region  for  heaven.     His  picture  is  given. 

At  the  top  of  the  Himalayas  is  a  great  lake,  w^hich  is 
the  common  source  of  all  the  rivers  of  the  earth.  The 
earth  is  in  the  shape  of  half  a  calabash,  sloping  upwards 
on  all  sides  to  the  summit  of  the  Himalayas.  India,  not 
China,  is  "  the  middle  kingdom,"  and  so  "  the  navel  of  the 
earth."  What  causes  the  tides  ?  "  The  water  flowing 
through  the  palace  of  the  dragon  assumes  a  blue  colour, 
and  as  it  enters  or  issues  forth  from  the  palace,  causes  the 
fall  and  rise  of  the  sea."  Why  does  not  the  ocean  over- 
flow ?  "  There  are  four  precious  jewels  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea  which  absorb  the  waters  from  the  countless  rivers." 
What  gives  the  sea  its  brackish  taste  ?  One  of  the 
reasons  assigned  is  that  "  in  the  middle  of  the  sea  is  a 
great  fish  9,000  miles  in  length,  and  its  pollutions  cause 
the  salt  taste."  What  is  the  cause  of  earthquakes  ? 
"  The  earth  is  placed  on  water,  the  water  on  wind,  the 
wind  on  space  ;  when  the  wind  is  agitated,  then  the  water 
is  moved,  and  this  shakes  the  earth." 

The  Great  Chiliocosm — In  the  sacred  books  there 
are  cuts  with  many  little  circles  ;  these  circles  are  worlds, 
and  each  may  by  a  process  of  evolution  become  a  system 
of  worlds, — worlds  upon  worlds  filling  immensity.  There 
are  little  chiliocosms,  and  a  thousand  thousand  of  these 
make  a  great  chiliocosm. 

There  are  kalpas  (indefinite  periods  of  time)  of  esta- 
blishment, kalpas  of  perfection,  kalpas  of  destruction,  and 


The   Theology  of  Btiddhisni.  211 

kalpas  of  vacancy,  twenty  of  each  ;  during  the  first  forty 
kalpas  the  universe  is  gradually  brought  to  perfection, 
and  during  the  last  forty  the  process  of  dissolution  brings 
it  to  its  primeval  condition.  "The  great  chiliocosm  is 
not  perfected  by  one  influence  or  by  one  operation,  but 
by  countless  influences  and  countless  operations."  "  The 
physical  causes  engaged  in  its  periodical  formation  and 
destruction  are  water,  wind,  and  fire."  '^  Supposing  the 
world  to  be  under  the  eternal  law  of  change,  Buddhists 
give  no  account  of  its  first  origin,  not  feeling  the  need 
of  the  doctrine  of   creation." 

Its  scriptures  say,  "  When  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
again  began  to  be,  there  was  no  defined  substance,  neither 
was  there  sun  nor  moon  ;  but  the  earth  bubbled  up  as  a 
sweet  fountain,  the  taste  of  which  was  like  virgin  honey." 
The  Devas  touched  it  with  their  fingers,  tasted  it,  and  ate, 
till  they  lost  their  angelic  beauty,  and  became  coarse  like 
men.  "  A  great  black  wind  arose,  which  blew  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters  and  produced  the  sun  and  moon.  On 
beholding  them  come  forth,  men  were  filled  with  joy. 
From  this  time  began  morning  and  evening,  darkness 
and  light,  and  the  revolving  seasons."  "There  was  no 
distinction  of  male  or  female,  but  all  were  born  alike  in 
the  world,  and  from  this  arose  the  expression,  '  all  living 
things.' "  "  When  men  began  to  desire  many  things, 
then  the  sexes  were  developed,  and  from  this  came  the 
name  of  man  and  wife." 

The  Heart — The  Pantheistic  tendencies  of  Buddhistic 
philosophy  are  illustrated  by  its  deification  of  the  heart. 
A  Sutra  says,  "  The  heart,  as  a  skilful  workman,  makes  all 
the  different  conditions  of  existence  throughout  the  ten 


2  1 2         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

regions  of  space  ;  everything  in  the  universe  results  from 
the  operation  of  this  universal  essence." 

"The  heart  is  Buddha,"  is  an  expression  in  constant 
use  by  the  Chinese,  which  is  the  same  as  to  say  that 
a  man  has  a  divinity  within  his  own  bosom,  and  needs 
no  other  lord.  The  heart  is  "  the  inborn  Buddha,  which 
belongs  to  everything  that  has  conscious  existence.  It 
is  pure  and  holy,  but  is  overshadowed  and  shut  out  from 
view  by  the  passions.  Let  every  one  search  for  it  with 
introverted  eye,  and  he  will  need  no  god  or  idol  to  adore, 
nor  any  law  to  control  him.  Let  him  uncover  the  veiled 
Buddha  in  his  own  heart.  He  will  then  become  his  own 
teacher  and  his  own  regenerator."  In  this  language  we 
see  another  sacrifice,  a  very  acceptable  one,  to  human 
pride. 

An  author  says,  "  Heaven  and  earth  with  this  heart 
pervade  the  myriad  of  things  ;  man  obtains  it,  and  then 
it  is  the  heart  of  man ;  things  obtain  it,  and  then  it  is  the 
heart  of  things.  Grrass,  trees,  birds,  and  beasts  obain  it, 
and  then  it  is  the  heart  of  grass,  trees,  birds,  and  beasts. 
This  is  just  the  one  heart  of  heaven  and  earth." 

Morality. — On  entering  Buddhist  temples  there  are 
found  most  excellent  moral  precepts  on  signboards  or 
fixed  in  the  walls.  "  Only  Heaven  is  Supreme."  "  There 
is  but  one  road  to  happiness."  "  Only  the  good  are  happy 
for  ever."  "  Buddha  lives  in  one's  heart."  "  Coming  and 
going,  have  one  heart."  "When  one  prays  the  heart 
responds."  "  The  pure  heart  will  excel  in  intelligence." 
"  Do  not  deceive."  Alas !  they  are  merely  engraved  on 
wood  and  brick,  and  not  graven  on  the  fleshy  tablets  of 
the  heart.    The  precepts  of  Shakyamuni  "  proceeded  from 


The   Theology  of  Buddhism.  2 1  3 

the  lips  of  a  man  who  through  a  long  life  was  animated 
by  a  pure  and  lofty  asceticism."  Buddha  spoke  of  the 
ten  evils :  murder,  theft,  and  lust  belonging  to  the  body  ; 
equivocation,  slander,  lying,  and  flattery  to  the,  speech; 
and  envy,  anger,  and  delusion  to  the  thoughts.  The 
three  poisons  within  the  heart  are  covetousness,  anger,  and 
delusion.  The  five  obscurities  are  envy,  passion,  sloth, 
vacillation,  and  unbelief.  Buddha  says,  "  Lust  and  con- 
cupiscence are  the  sole  causes  of  all  the  folly  and  confusion 
in  the  world ;  they  are  like  a  person  who  takes  a  lighted 
torch  and  runs  with  it  against  the  wind." 

"  The  heart  is  the  Dusy  contriver  of  the  lusts  ;  compose 
the  heart,  and  these  evil  thoughts  will  all  be  still." 
"  Once  get  rid  of  the  pollution  of  the  wicked  heart,"  and 
the  life  will  be  correct.  ''  The  man  who  is  able  to 
govern  his  heart  and  keep  it  pure,  and  who  perseveres 
against  all  obstacles,  advances  onward  ;  this  man,  when 
lust  is  banished  and  vice  is  destroyed,  will  obtain  salva- 
tion." 

In  "The  Sutra  of  Forty-two  Sections,"  Buddha  says, 
"  Man  having  many  faults,  if  he  does  not  repent,  but 
allows  his  heart  to  be  at  rest,  will  find  sins  rushing  upon 
him  like  water  to  the  sea.  If  a  man  becomes  sensible  of 
his  faults,  abandons  them,  and  <icts  virtuously,  his  sin  will 
day  by  day  diminish  and  be  destroyed,  till  he  obtains  full 
enlightenment."  "  Who  is  the  great  man  ? "  asks  the 
Indian  sage.  "  He  who  is  strongest  in  the  exercise  of 
patience,  he  who  patiently  endures  misery  and  maintains 
a  blameless  life." 

Among  difficult  things  he  mentions,  '^  Being  poor  to  be 
charitable,  being  rich  or  great  to  be    religious,  to    bear 


2  14         '^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

insult  without  anger,  to  move  in  the  world  without 
setting  the  heart  on  it,  and  to  be  the  same  in  heart  and 
life."  Some  of  Shakya's  words  might  be  written  in  gold, 
— "A  man  who  foolishly  does  me  wrong,  I  will  return 
to  him  the  protection  of  my  ungrudging  love  ;  the  more 
evil  comes  from  him,  the  more  good  shall  go  from  me  ; 
the  fragrance  of  these  good  actions  always  redounding  to 
me,  the  harm  of  the  slanderer's  words  returning  to  him." 

Some  of  the  charitable  institutions  in  China  may 
probably  be  ascribed  to  Buddhism.  There  are  many 
Buddhist  tracts  inculcating  morality,  but  it  is  impossible 
to  tell  how  much  of  the  light  is  borrowed.  The  influence 
of  Buddhist  morality  is  at  a  minimum,  for  two  reasons  ; 
first,  the  towering  ascendency  of  Confucianism,  and 
second,  because  the  monks,  the  exponents  of  the  system, 
do  not  by  their  celibate  lives  recommend  the  doctrines 
they  profess. 

Asceticism. — The  life  of  Shakyamuni  has  been  a 
practical  illustration.  The  world  renounced,  the  city 
abandoned,  riches  given  up,  fathers  cast  away,  mothers 
forsaken,  brothers  and  sisters  left  behind,  wife  forgotten, 
children  disowned,  family  deserted,  relatives  unknown, 
homeless,  friendless,  penniless, — this  is  to  be  a  Buddhist. 
Neither  by  command  nor  precept  does  it  regulate  the 
relations  between  prince  and  subject,  father  and  son,  or 
husband  and  wife.  The  Church  is  a  body  of  hermits,  a 
congregation  of  priests,  an  army  of  mendicants.  The 
doctrine  of  penance  is  one  of  its  prime  tenets. 

"  Deny  thyself,"  says  Buddha.  He  inculcated  the 
principle  of  self-denial  and  the  life  of  self-sacrifice.  "  The 
starting-point    in    his   code  was    the    idea    of    absolute 


The   Theology  of  Buddhism.  2  1 5 

self-renunciation,"  and  in  this  lay  "the  path  of  deliver- 
ance from  misery."     Let  us  see  how  this  sage  speaks  of 

Love. — Love  is  the  root  of  birth  and  death.  If  love  is 
not  broken  one  is  not  born  in  Paradise.  Its  cords  must  be 
broken  in  two.  The  canal  of  love  and  the  sea  of  sorrow 
are  the  same.  Love  of  friends,  family,  and  riches  must  be 
broken  off  before  one  may  become  Buddha.  If  you  do  not 
know  that  love  is  the  root  of  life  and  death,  you  may  be 
chanting  while  the  root  grows  larger  ;  before  your  eyes  at 
home  may  be  parents,  wife,  children,  and  riches,  and  the 
whole  body  in  a  fiery  furnace.  If  you  look  round  and  see 
your  children,  can  you  pull  up  love  by  the  roots  ?  If  you 
cannot  pull  up  love  by  the  roots,  how  can  you  loose  the 
coils  of  life  and  death  ? 

Emptiness. — The  Confucianist  objects  to  Buddhism 
that  it  is  a  system  of  "  emptiness,"  because  it  denies 
the  consciousness  of  man  and  the  reality  of  the  external 
world.  When  Buddha  turned  the  wheel  of  the  law  in 
the  deer  garden  and  "  preached  respecting  the  secret 
and  mysterious  signs  of  being,"  he  founded  his  argument 
on  the  assertion  that  all  things  are  void,  all  phenomena 
unreal.  He  says,  "  If  a  man  knows  that  self  has  no 
individual  nature,  then  all  phenomena  will  appear  to  him 
unreal."  The  two  things  the  Buddhist  desires  are,  first, 
"  A  heart  fixed  on  nothing,"  and  second,  "  A  mind  which 
dwells  nowhere." 

This  phase  of  Buddhism  is  illustrated  by  extracts  from 
the  "  Heart  Sutra,*'  which  is  chanted  by  nearly  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  Central  China.  "  Appearance  and 
emptiness  are  the  same  ;  emptiness  and  appearance  are  the 
same.     Appearance  is  emptiness  and  emptiness  is  appear- 


2l6 


The  Dragon,  Image, 


and  Demon. 


ance.  Keception,  thought,  action,  and  knowledge  are 
empty.  The  empty  substance  of  all  law  is  not  born,  is 
not  destroyed,  is  not  clean,  is  not  soiled ;  it  cannot  be 
added  to  and  cannot  be  destroyed  ;  for  this  reason — in  the 
middle  of  emptiness  there  is  no  appearance,  no  reception, 
thought,  action,  or  knowledge.  It  is  without  the  eye, 
ear,    nose,    tongue,    body,    and   mind.      It    is    without 


Meditation. 


appearance,  voice,  fragrance,  taste,  feeling,  law  ;  without 
limit  to  sight,  without  limit  to  mind,  without, 
without  clearness,  and  without,  without  clear  ending." 
In  the  sacred  books,  there  are  some  examples  of 
Nihilism  —  A  wayfarer  in  the  country  of  Afghanistan 
knocks  at  the  door  of  a  Brahman  family.  A  young  man 
within  answers,  "There  is  no  one   in  this   house."     The 


The   Theology  of  Btiddhism.  2 1 7 

traveller,  who  was  a  Patriarch,  understood  this,  and  said, 
''  Who  is  no  one?"  The  door  opened,  and  the  old  man 
foretells  the  destiny  of  the  youth;  he  was  his  successor, 
the  eighteenth  Patriarch. 

This  man,  Saugkayasheta,  "  heard  the  bells  of  a  temple 
ringing  on  account  of  the  wind  blowing.  His  teacher 
asked  him,  '  Is  it  the  bells  that  make  the  sound,  or  the 
wind  ? '  The  Patriarch  replied,  '  It  is  neither  the  bells 
nor  the  wind,  it  is  my  mind.' " 

The  Emperor  Leang  Wute  at  Nanking  meeting  with 
Bodhidharma  asks,  ''  Which  is  the  most  important  of  the 
holy  doctrines  ?  "  He  replies,  "  Where  all  is  emptiness 
nothing  can  be  called  ?ioly."  The  Emperor  says,  "  Who  is 
this  that  thus  replies  to  me  ? "  The  speaker  answers, 
"  I  do  not  know." 

Meditation. — This  may  be  called  the  "  anxious  bench  " 
of  Buddhism ;  thus  six  years  sat  Buddha  in  the  jungle. 
Priests  are  often  seen  sitting  tailor-fashion  on  a  small 
platform,  for  hours  at  a  time,  thoughtless,  motionless. 
The  bonze  "  must  first  arm  himself  with  a  firm  resolve 
to  save  all  creatures,  vowing  that  he  will  obtain  supreme 
wisdom."  The  mat  must  be  placed  in  a  retired  spot  to 
be  free  from  interruption,  the  body  composed  to  a  state 
of  perfect  quiet,  the  clothes  spread  out,  the  legs  properly 
arranged,  the  toes  of  the  right  foot  on  the  left  thigh,  and 
vice  versa,  the  palm  of  the  left  hand  placed  in  the  hollow 
of  the  right,  the  eyebrows  hanging  down,  the  eyes  slightly 
opened,  and  fixed  on  the  end  of  the  nose,  the  body  and 
heart  both  fixed,  the  mind  bound  down  to  repose  in  the 
middle  of  the  body,  the  breathings  counted  to  prevent 
thought,  and  then  the  heart  is  at  rest.     At  this  time  the 


2i8         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

soul  got^s  out  and  wanders  at  leisure,  sometimes  even  on 
a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles,  returning  at  pleasure, 
so  that  the  priest  in  these  invisible  flights  sees  and 
knows  all-  that  goes  on  in  the  county  or  province. 

Kindness  to  Animals. — Buddhism  shows  the  sym- 
pathy for  animals  that  was  intended  for  men.  The 
principle  on  which  it  is  based  is  that  to  eat  meat,  the 
root  of  pity  in  the  heart  is  broken  off.  Another  reason 
is  that  according  to  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  one 
may  be  feeding  on  an  ancestor.  A  third,  that  all 
creatures  are  the  sons  of  Buddha,  so  a  priest  is  seen  using 
a  brush  to  drive  off  mosquitoes  to  avoid  killing  one  ;  the 
lice  on  the  body  it  is  not  right  to  destroy,  and  even 
hungry  spirits  Buddha  pities  as  a  father.  There  are 
societies  to  receive  animals  redeemed  from  the  slaughter- 
house, canals  set  apart  in  which  to  turn  loose  fish,  where 
the  hook  cannot  be  dropped  or  the  net  dragged  ;  hawkers 
along  the  streets  cry,  "Buy  this  big  turtle  for  $2,  and 
do  a  meritorious  act ; "  an  old  mule  is  treated  as  tenderly 
as  a  grandmother.  A  man  listening  to  me  preaching  on 
Abraham  offering  up  Isaac  exclaimed,  "And  why  was  it 
necessary  to  kill  that  goat  ?  " 

Vegetarians — A  corollary  to  the  tenet  of  the  sacred- 
ness  of  animal  life  and  the  wickedness  of  animal  sacrifices 
is  the  sin  of  eating  flesh.  The  Christian  religion  is  called 
the  Ye-su  (Jesus)  Church,  and  so  those  unaccustomed  to 
the  f^ound  often  ask  "  if  we  eat  su," — that  is,  live  on  a 
vegetable  diet.  The  monks  are  vegetarians  (though  not 
a  few  quietly  indulge  in  fish  and  pork),  and  object  seriously 
to  a  dog  bringing  a  bone,  by  which  the  temple  precincts 
would  be  defiled*     To  be  a  vegetarian  is  the  method  the 


The   TJieology  of  Buddhism.  219 

laity  have  of  making  a  profession  of  the  Buddhist  faith, 
and  millions  among  the  women  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
the  old  men,  some  for  thirty  or  forty  years,  have  not 
tasted  meat.  It  is  exceedingly  troublesome,  for  on  a  visit 
to  friends  they  cannot  eat  rice  out  of  a  pot  in  which  flesh 
has  been  cooked.  Others  are  vegetarians  certain  days 
and  parts  of  certain  months  ;  as,  in  honour  of  Kwanyin, 
the  first  nineteen  days  of  the  1st,  6th,  and  9th  Moons 
are  observed ;  for  the  "  Three  Mandarins  "  the  first  half 
of  the  1st,  7th,  and  10th  Moons  are  days  of  fasting;  and 
for  twenty-four  days  of  July  almost  the  whole  population 
abstain  from  meats,  in  honour  of  the  god  of  thunder. 
The  candles  used  in  worship  are  made  of  the  grease  of 
the  tallow-tree,  not  of  beef-tallow,  so  that  Buddhism  is 
an  "  anti-fat  society."  The  idea  pervading  the  devotees 
of  this  faith  is  that  by  "  eating  no  meat "  the  heart  is 
purified,  hence  the  appropriateness  of  the  passage,  "  Not 
that  which  entereth  into  a  man  defileth  the  man." 

Sin. — This  is  a  word  which  Buddhism  has  kept  alive 
in  China,  but  perhaps  there  is  no  nation  which  has  less 
sense  of  sin  than  the  Chinese.  They  confess  sin  in  general, 
but  deny  every  particular  sin  ;  they  acknowledge  sin  in 
the  abstract,  but  refu'se  to  admit  it  in  the  concrete ;  they 
say,  "  Oh !  yes,  every  one  must  have  sins,"  but  the 
individual  addressed  has  no  personal  sin  ;  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  sin  in  China,  but  it  does  not  lie  at  my  door. 
Sometimes,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Why  are  you  a 
vegetarian  ? "  the  reply  will  be,  "  Because  my  sins  are 
heavy;"  or  to  "Why  do  you  go' on  pilgrimages?"  it  is 
replied,  ^'  To  escape  from  sin  ; "  to  "  Why  do  you  burn 
incense?"  it  is  said,  "  We  all  have  sins  on  our  bodies,"  but 


2  20         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Denton. 

oftener  men  reply,  "  I  have  no  sin."  "  But  have  you  never 
sinned  in  your  Hfe  ?  "  ''  Oh  !  no,  I  have  never  trampled 
on  a  grain  of  rice  or  misused  printed  paper."  "  Think, 
in  heedless  youth,  did  you  never  lie  or  curse  ?  "  "  If  I 
did,  I  have  forgotten  it ;  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  sin  : 
if  I  have,  I  do  not  know  it  now,  I  may  know  it  hereafter." 
It  seems  to  be  universal  that  all  men  consider  themselves 
sinless ;  the  "  seared  conscience  "  is  the  habitual  accom- 
paniment of  age.  The  old  ladies  wear  red  pants  as  a  sign 
that  they  have  attained  perfection. 

The  Buddhist  idea  of  sin  is  more  that  which  brings 
calamity  than  what  is  essentially  evil  in  itself.  "How 
about  those  who  are  killed  by  the  thunder  ? "  is  the 
continual  question.  He  must  be  unfilial,  or  he  was  a 
murderer,  as  was  judged  of  the  apostle  by  the  barbarous 
people  of  Melita,  when  a  viper  fastened  on  his  hand.  If 
lightning  strikes  a  tree  there  is  a  venomous  snake  hidden 
at  its  root.  The  missionary  has  constantly  to  preach  on 
the  Tower  of  Siloam,  and  of  the  blind  man  about  whom 
the  disciples  asked,  "  Master,  who  did  sin,  this  man  or  his 
parents,  that  he  should  be  born  blind  ?  "  The  blind  sit 
by  the  wayside  with  the  heart-rending  cry,  "  Hell  is 
before  my  eyes,"  i.e.,  the  sorrow  is  like  that  in  the  prison 
of  the  lost.  Sickness  is  spoken  of  as  "  transgressed 
disease,"  and  criminals  (see  Chapter  XXVI.)  appear  in 
the  processions  confessing  their  sins. 

Redemption. — "Redemption"  is  a  blessed  word  that 
Buddhism  has  preserved  till  Christianity  came  to  China, — 
the  same  word  the  people  use  in  redeeming  their  effects 
from  the  pawn-shop.  The  idea  of  redemption  in  Buddhism 
is  not  so  much  obtaining  pardon  for  sins  committed  as 


The   Theology  of  BMcidhisni.  221 

of  being  set  free  from  the  power  of  the  evil  passions. 
The  methods  of  obtaining  redemption  are  pilgrimages  to 
distant  shrines,  regularly  burning  incense,  performing 
meritorious  acts,  a  vegetable  diet,  saving  animal  life,  and 
chanting  books  of  prayer,  thus  renovating  one's  own  heart ; 
it  is  thought  a  definite  amount  of  gifts  and  worship  will 
gain  the  removal  of  a  corresponding  amount  of  sin  and 
its  attendant  suffering. 

The  idea  of  grace  is  in  a  slight  degree  kept  before  the 
people  ;  that  grace  which  is  "  pity  in  the  heart  of  Buddha, 
prompting  him  to  teach  true  doctrine  to  those  who  have 
gone  astray,  and  opening  a  path  for  self-reformation  and 
pardon  of  sins."  As  in  Taoist  works  the  Buddhist  element 
is  freely  intermingled,  "  the  god  of  the  Taoists  is  repre- 
sented as  promulgating  a  gracious  decree  to  remit  the 
punishment  of  hell  for  those  who  repent." 

Merit. — The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  meritorious 
actions  is  the  bulwark  of  Buddhism.  Do  and  live  is  their 
maxim.  The  Buddhist  is  placed  "  under  the  unrelenting 
yoke  of  the  moral  law  of  his  own  religion,  a  burden  too 
heavy  to  be  borne." 

According  to  the  doctrine  of  kai^ma,  "  Every  act  of 
worship,  every  Buddhist  ceremony,  every  book  of  devotion 
read,  every  gift  to  a  monastery  or  a  begging  priest,  every 
mass  for  the  dead,  every  invocation  of  a  Buddha  or 
Bodhisattwa,  every  wish  for  the  good  of  others,  infallibly 
causes  great  good,  through  the  necessary  operation  of  the 
law  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  moral  sphere." 

The  doctrine  of  "  causation  "  or  "  fate,"  by  which  "  a 
man's  destiny  is  determined  by  the  stock  of  merits  or 
demerits  accumulated  in  previous  forms  of  existence,  con- 


222         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

statutes  Buddhism  a  system  of  fatalism,"  as  good  actions 
bring  happiness,  and  bad  ones  misery.  ''To  do  good 
deeds "  is  hourly  heard  as  the  synonym  of  duty  and 
religion.  The  services  for  the  dead  are  highly  meritorious 
to  the  living.  "  Tso  kung-teh,"  "  do  merit,"  consists  of 
liturgical  services  for  the  departed,  to  obtain  for  them 
better  positions  in  the  other  world,  by  which  children  and 
friends  may,  through  the  priests,  the  mediators  of  the 
dark  covenant  of  Buddhism,  add  merit  unto  their  ancestors. 
It  is  a  double-acting  machine,  by  which  the  departed 
obtain  merit  by  what  is  done,  and  the  living  obtain  merit 
by  doing  it. 

The  Chinese  have  a  work  called  "  The  Eules  of  Merit 
and  Transgression,"  with  an  enumeration  of  almost  every 
conceivable  action,  stating  the  commercial  value  of  good 
deeds  in  the  market  of  Hades,  and  the  relative  scale  of 
punishments  for  the  evil.  A  good  Chinaman  often  sits 
down  at  night  and  makes  out  the  account  for  the  day, 
being  always  sure  he  has  credit  in  the  bank,  so  that 
"  morality  is  converted  into  a  vast  scheme  of  profit  and 
loss."     To  illustrate  : — 

Account  of  Merit. 

Cr. 

To  pay  the  debts  of  a  father 10 

To  worship  at  a  father's  burial 50 

When  rich  to  marry  a  deformed  girl  to  whom  be- 
trothed when  poor 100 

To  lend  an  umbrella 1 

To  build  bridges,  repair  roads,  open  canals,  and  dig 

wells,  for  every  dollar  expended .         ...  10 

To  furnish  a  coffin  for  the  poor 30 

To  bury  a  man  who  has  no  son 50 

To  entreat  a  mother  not  to  commit  infanticide.         .  30 


The   Theology  of  Bicddhism. 


223 


To  save  a  child  from  infanticide. 

To  save  one  hundred  insects       .... 

To  bury  a  bird 

To  turn  loose  animals,  for  every  10  cents  expended 

To  pick  up  one  grain  of  rice       .... 

To  return  what  you  pick  up  on  the  street,  for  every 

value  of  10  cents 

To  give  10  cents  to  beggars        .... 

For  one  year  not  to  eat  beef  or  dog  meat  . 

To  publish  a  part  of  the  Classics 

To  forgive  a  debt        ...... 

To  destroy  the  stereotype  plates  of  immoral  books 
Purity  through  life 


Cr. 

50 
1 

1 
1 
1 

1 

1 

5 

100 

100 

300 

1000 


Account  of  Transgressions. 

To  love  a  wife  more  than  father  and  mother 
To  listen  to  a  wife  against  one's  own  brothers 
To    allow    a   step-mother   to    illtreat   a  first 

children  ;  each  day 
To  be  double-tongued 

To  be  insincere 

To  have  one  bad  thought    . 

To  see  immoral  theatricals. 

To  dig  up  a  worm  in  winter 

To  laugh  at  an  ugly  person. 

To  soil  the  page  of  a  book . 

To  take  meat  and  wine  to  a  tej.i[)lG   . 

To  get  drunk      ..... 

To  be  guilty  of  usury.         .         .         . 

To  counterfeit  silver  .... 

To  misuse  written  or  printed  paper  . 

To  cook  beef  or  dog  meat  . 

To  dig  up  a  coffin        .... 

For  a  mandarin  not  to  prohibit  infanticide 

To  assist  in  infanticide 

To  drown  an  infant    .... 

To  publish  an  obscene  book 


wife 


Dr. 

100 
10 


1 
30 
10 
10 
10 
1 
3 
5 
5 
5 
100 
100 
50 
100 
100 
10 
50 
100 
measureless. 


2  24         -^^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

The  Field  of  Happiness. — This  phrase  often  occurs 
in  the  sacred  books,  with  the  design  of  inducing  men  to 
be  charitable.  The  field  is  the  heart,  alms  the  grain  ; 
sow  the  seeds  of  charity  in  this  life,  and  you  will  reap 
a  happy  harvest  in  the  next.     To  the  poor,   riches  will 


Transmigration. 


be  given  ;  to  the  lowly,  office  ;  upon  those  who  desire 
health,  long  life,  or  sons ;  such  are  the  blessings  that 
will  be  bestowed. 

Transmigration. — The  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  is 
the   great  central  principle  of  Buddhism.     Just   as   the 


The   Theology  of  Buddhisui.  225 

cross  is  the  emblem  of  Christianity,  so  the  wheel  is  the 
symbol  of  Buddhism ;  the  wheel  of  the  law  turns  in  this 
world  and  the  wheel  of  transmigration  in  Hades.  In 
this  wheel  there  are  six  ranks, — insects,  fish,  birds, 
animals,  poor  men,  and  mandarins.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  go  in  order  through  the  six  paths,  but  one  may  go 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  from  the  lowest  to 
the  highest.  All  sentient  creatures  are  bound  to  this 
revolving  wheel. 

There  is  a  state  of  action  and  reaction  between  this 
world  and  Hades,  a  system  of  rewards  bestowed,  and 
vengeance  taken.  A  wicked  man  returns  as  a  beast,  but 
if  the  beast  is  killed,  his  sins  are  atoned  for  and  the 
account  settled,  and  he  may  the  next  time  be  a  man. 
There  is  a  state  of  enmity  between  the  two  worlds.  If  a 
man  goes  through  life  and  he  does  not  kill  an  ant  or  a 
fly,  then  there  is  no  enmity  in  the  other  world.  The 
common  saying  is,  "  If  I  am  a  hog  and  you  a  man,  and 
you  kill  me,  in  the  next  life  you  will  be  a  hog  and  I  a 
man,  and  I  will  kill  you." 

An  early  transmigration  is  thought  to  be  desirable. 
From  ancient  times  it  was  the  practice  of  the  poor,  some 
years  after  decease,  to  burn  the  coffin  and  gather  up  the 
bones,  for  want  of  burial  space.  Afterwards,  as  the  priests 
practised  cremation,  it  was  said,  ''  One  day  quicker  burned 
one  day  sooner  returned,"  so  the  custom  became  general 
in  some  parts  of  the  land,  though  the  mandarins  issue 
proclamations  forbidding  it. 

Metempsychosis  is  the  faith  of  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  China ;  all  believe  that  they  individually  have  in 
a   previous  existence  been  here  upon  this   earth.     They 

15 


2  26         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

have  a  proverb,  that  "the  good  has  the  good  reward,  and 
the  evil  the  evil  reward,"  but  they  see  many  honest  men 
are  poor,  and  that  the  wicked  "  flourish  as  the  green  bay- 
tree,"  so  they  seek  for  a  theory  to  cover  these  different 
conditions,  and  find  it  in  the  formula,  that  happiness  and 
misery  in  this  life  are  the  result  of  good  or  bad  deeds  in 
a  previous  existence.  Preach  against  this  as  the  minister 
may,  their  minds  still  revolve  around  the  hub  of  trans- 
migration. It  is  not  simply  inlaid  in  their  constitutions,  it 
is  so  thoroughly  interwoven  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  mental 
structure  of  all  Buddhists.  "  Cruelty,  covetousness,  false- 
hood, lust,  drunkenness,  and  other  vices  will  heap  up 
a  stock  of  demerit,  producing  rebirth  in  some  wretched 
condition  of  life  upon  earth,  while  the  opposite  virtues 
will  insure  a  desirable  condition."  All  say  they  know  of 
many  instances.  A  sheep  near  Soochow  was  once  born 
with  a  man's  name  branded  on  its  side,  and  did  it  not 
have  the  soul  of  that  man  ?  Some  years  since  a  man 
at  Hangchow  dreamed  that  outside  one  of  the  gates  a 
cow  had  a  calf,  which  was  his  father  returning.  Eising 
early  and  going  to  a  village,  he  found  a  young  calf; 
purchasing  the  cow  and  calf  he  led  it  home,  and  honoured 
it  as  his  venerated  father.  A  few  nights  afterwards  he 
dreamed  that  it  was  not  the  soul  of  his  father,  but  that 
of  an  enemy,  and  its  retention  would  bring  untold 
calamities.     On  the  morrow,  the  calf  was  killed. 

The  greatest  hope  of  a  woman  is  that  next  time  she 
may  be  a  man ;  of  a  poor  man  that  he  may  be  born  rich  ; 
of  the  wealthy  that  in  a  coming  age  they  may  be 
mandarins.  This  is  an  old  doctrine  of  the  Brahmans, 
which  Buddha  remodelled,  and  made  it  the  pivot  of  his 


The   Theology  of  Buddhism.  227 

system,  and  this  was  the  sword  the  Indian  prophet 
wielded  with  such  frightful  terror.  What  a  fearful 
doctrine  !  Lashed  to  the  wheel  of  fate,  as  a  man  caught 
in  the  machinery  of  a  great  mill,  going  round  and  round, 
first  in  the  light  and  then  down  in  the  night ;  now  in 
life,  then  descending  to  the  shades  of  death,  around  and 
around  through  ceaseless  aeons  as  the  revolving  wheel 
turns  over  and  over.  There  in  the  temple  is  the  mill 
with  the  man  going  in  above  and  the  dog  coming  out 
beneath,  and  here  is  the  picture  of  the  horse  entering 
the  man's  body  as  he  possesses  merit,  and  so  returns 
a  human  being.  This  is  a  fort  at  which  Christianity 
must  level  its  heaviest  batteries. 

The  gods  strapped  to  this  Wheel.— Buddha,  in  his 
great  sermon  on  Mount  Sumeru,  addressing  the  pantheon 
of  the  skies,  said,  "  0  ye  gods  and  goddesses !  think  not 
that  your  estate  is  permanent  and  established  in  heaven ; 
you  also  must  descend  and  be  bound  to  the  wheel  of 
transmigration,  and  return  as  men  to  earth." 

Nirvana. — As  Heaven  offered  no  safe  abode  for  men 
or  gods,  Buddha  sought  some  estate  which  would  be  per- 
manent and  enduring ;  that  estate  is  Nirvana,  the  doctrine 
of  Buddha's  old  age  when  his  experience  was  ripe.  It  is 
to  get  outside  of  the  wheel  of  life  and  death,  so  entering 
Nirvana  one  escapes  from  transmigration.  It  is  the 
repose  of  the  soul,  a  passionless  condition-  of  body  and 
spirit,  an  absolute  rest  obtained  by  the  absorption  of  the 
soul  into  itself.  The  question  comes.  What  does  Ikidd- 
hism  teach  of  this  state  ?  One  of  Buddha''s  followers 
asserted,  "  Nirvana  is  ; "  but  if  it  is  a  state  of  being,  it 
is   a   motionless   being,  where   the  heart  does  not    beat. 


2  28         The  Dj-agoii,  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  mind  does  not  think,  the  soul  does  not  act,  the  life 
does  not  live.  There  is  no  thought,  personality,  or 
identity, —  a  place  where  the  "  I  "  is  lost.  It  is  described 
as  "  where  the  silence  lies,"  a  state  of  "complete  silence," 
a  condition  of  ''  nothingness,"  a  state  of  "  non-existence." 
"  Nirvana  is  a  state  of  which  nothing  can  be  said,  to 
which  no  attributes  can  be  given  :  it  is  altogether  an 
abstract,  devoid  of  all  positive  and  negative  qualities." 
If  the  Chinese  equivalents  can  be  relied  on,  Nirvana 
means  "  entire  destruction,"  which  is  nothing  less  than 
annihilation,  and  it  possesses  all  the  qualities  we  ascribe 
to  annihilation,  as  it  is  "  the  complete  extinction  of  all 
personal  and  individual  being."  In  the  translations  of 
the  Indian  Sutras  into  Chinese,  over  and  over  is  Nirvana 
described  as  "absolute  annihilation ; "  so  this  great  religion 
of  Asia  ends  "  in  nothingness  as  the  issue  and  crown  of 
being." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    WORSHIP    OF   BUDDHISM. 

BUDDHIvSM  as  a  religion  consists  not  so  much 
in  the  Hfe  of  its  founder  and  in  its  doctrinal 
tenets  as  it  does  in  its  temple  worship,  this  worship 
supplying  the  craving  of  the  heart  for  a  medium 
by  which  to  express  its  reverence  for  the  higher 
powers.  The  ministers  who  minister  at  its  altars  are 
The  Priests — These  are  known  by  their  shaven  heads 
and  yellow  robes,  which  are  loose  and  flowing  to  allow 
for  spiritual  influences ;  their  stockings  are  large  enough 
for  two  feet  to  be  put  into  one.  In  central  and  southern 
China  they  are  like  the  black  crows  in  number.  All 
religions  have  ceremonies  for  setting  apart  men  to  the 
sacred  office.  Fifty  days  the  candidate  for  the  priesthood 
is  required  to  spend  in  special  preparation,  with  severe 
fasts,  watches  by  night,  rigorous  penance,  and  subjected 
to  many  hardships.  His  special  seals  are  the  marks  above 
his  forehead,  for  he  is  branded  in  twelve  spots  on  his 
shaven  pate  by  lighted  incense,  which,  burning  on  his 
head,  leaves  an  indelible  impress.  In  olden  times  it  was 
a  life  of  self-denial,  but  now  many  "  enter  the  priest's 
office  to  eat  the  priest's  bread."  Sometimes  a  priest 
adopts  a  boy  from  a  poor  family  and  trains  him  up  as  his 


-^°         TheJJmgou,  Image,  and  Demon. 

successor  in  the  temple  service,  \y^^^^^Si^^^^^^. 
worthless  vagabonds  enter  the  ranks  because  they  have  no 
employment.  Occasionally  the  heart  is  touched  by  seein. 
httle   boys  without  their  own  consent  forced   into   this 


Buddhist  Priests. 

miserable  service.     Once  we  snw  n  u 

had  mirIP  n  ,.  Hangchow  man,  who 

iidu  maae  a  vow  on  a  s  ck  hpH  f^  i.  . 

1-^1  ,  ^^  ^^  become  a  Driesf   tpnr 

:  h!:  :?r: ""'  ^^-^  ^-™  ^-^^^^  --^"'"^ 

put  tn.m  m  a  Pootoo  monastery  for  life. 


The   Worship  of  Bttddhism.  231 


The  bonzes  are  noted  for  their  idleness.  The  people 
speak  of  them  as  the  "  drones  in  the  hive,  and  not  useful 
as  the  silk-worm,"  and  despise  their  lazy  habits ;  for  they 
loiter  around  except  when  engaged  in  temple  services  or 
in  reading  prayers  for  the  dead.  In  the  second  place, 
they  are  remarkable  for  their  stupidity ;  the  monotone 
chant  not  being  conducive  to  mental  activity.  They 
have  no  intellectual  tastes.  I  have  asked  them  at  Pootoo, 
"  Why  do  you  not  read  when  you  have  nothing  to  do  ?  " 
Ages  gone  by  they  have  ''  abandoned  the  study  of  the 
Sanscrit,  and  know  nothing  of  the  history  of  their  own 
religion  ; "  their  shaven  pates  with  low  sloping  foreheads 
do  not  indicate  genius ;  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  men 
where  the  light  of  reason  is  so  obscured  as  in  many  of 
the  monks ;  yet  there  are  marked  exceptions,  for  we 
occasionally  see  those  who  are  noted  for  zeal,  devotion, 
and  learning.  Next  to  stupidity  is  their  cupidity.  With 
the  priest  it  is  a  question  of  business,  and  he  never  turns 
aside  to  philanthropic  acts.  One  illustration  will  suffice. 
I  said  to  one  of  the  thousand  monks  at  Pootoo,  "  I 
suppose  when  a  priest  dies  he  has  a  large  company  to 
perform  masses  for  his  soul  ? "  He  replied,  "  Oh  !  if 
he  leaves  S30  or  S40  they  will,  but  if  he  dies  without 
money  he  has  no  funeral."  As  Buddhism  enjoins  celibacy 
the  morals  of  the  younger  and  middle-aged  are  con- 
sidered by  the  masses  as  questionable. 

A  common  sight  is  the  priest  seated  beside  a  table, 
beating  on  his  wooden  fish-head,  counting  his  beads,  and 
chanting  the  instructions  of  Buddha  with  frequent  invo- 
cations. 

The  monk  has  his   manual   of  daily  prayer,    and  the 


232         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

rules  of  the  order  fill  several  volumes ;  he  is  subject  to 
strict  discipline  from  his  superiors,  though  it  is  not 
often  enforced.  When  travelling  he  may  stop  at  a 
monastery,  and  is  entitled  to  receive  his  food.  From  his 
prayer-book  the  following  is  taken.  When  he  rises  in 
the  morning  and  bows  before  Buddha  he  must  say, 

"  King  of  the  Law,  the  most  exalted  Lord, 
Unequalled  through  the  three -fold  world, 
Teacher  and  guide  of  men  and  gods, 
Our  loving  father  and  of  all  that  breathes, 
I  bow  myself  in  lowest  reverence  and  pray 
That  thou  wouldest  soon  destroy  the  power  of  destiny. 

To  set  forth  all  thy  praise 

Unbounded  time  would  not  suffice." 


Cremation  Jar. 


"  The  monk  does  not  need  faith  or  conviction  or  zeal. 
There  is  no  god  to  worship  but  Buddha,  and  he  is  an 
uncrowned  god  in  the  sense  in  which  Confucius  was  an 
uncrowned    king."     At    death  he  is    placed  in  a   sitting 


234         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


posture  in  the  burial  jar,  the  upper  half  is  fitted  on, 
iViggots  are  piled  around,  fire  is  applied,  and  soon  a  handful 
of  ashes  is  all  that  remains. 

The  Temple. — It  is  hard  for  us  to  divest  our  minds 
of  the  idea  that  a  Chinese  temple  is  a  building  of  mag- 
nificent architecture,  but  when  the  visitor  beholds  the 
heavy,  cumbrous,  barn-like  roof,  supported  by  huge  pillars, 


Four  Diamonds. 


the  floor  paved  with  brick,  all  above  dark  and  made 
darker  by  the  smoke  of  incense,  and  sees  the  mould  and 
the  dirt,  he  immediately  contrasts  it  in  his  mind  with 
the  sacred  edifices  of  G-reece  and  Kome.  Sometimes  a 
temple  is  seen  whose  proportions  please  the  eye.  In  the 
cities  the  temples  are  large,  and  they  are  the  property 
of  the  Church,  but  each  little  village  and  hamlet  has  its 


The   Worship  of  Buddhism.  235 

house  of  worship ;  these  last  belong  to  the  people,  and 
are  controlled  by  the  elders  of  the  village.  In  front  is 
usually  the  pond.  If  a  piece  of  bread  is  tossed  into  this, 
a  troop  of  gold  fish  rise  to  the  surface. 

A  Buddhist  temple  usually  consists  of  three  buildings, 
with  paved  open  courts  between  ;  the  smallest  in  front, 
the  second  of  more  importance,  while  the  third  is  the 
largest  and  most  important  of  all. 

The  Four  Diamonds — On  entering  the  first  build- 
ing, which  constitutes  the  doorway,  four  gigantic  images, 
two  on  each  side,  the  guardians  of  the  portal,  are  beheld. 
They  are  called  the  "  Four  Diamonds,''  and  were  four 
brothers,  named  Lee-pure,  Lee-red,  Lee-sea,  and  Lee-age. 
The  first,  Lee-pure,  has  a  sword  which,  if  brandished,  would 
cause  a  black  wind  to  spring  up,  and  in  the  wind  ten  thou- 
sand spears,  which  would  pierce  the  bodies  of  men  and 
turn  them  to  dust,  the  dust  so  great  that  men  could  not 
open  their  eyes.  After  the  wind  there  would  be  a  fire,  like 
ten  thousand  golden  serpents  flying  around.  The  third, 
Lee-red,  has  an  umbrella  in  his  hand,  w^iich  can  shade 
the  universe.  Turn  it,  and  there  would  be  earthquakes; 
open  it,  and  heaven  would  be  chaos,  earth  darkness,  and 
tl.e  sun  and  moon  without  light.  Lee-sea  has  a  guitar, 
and  when  he  touches  the  strings  fire  and  wind  issue  forth. 
Lee-age  has  a  bag,  and  in  the  bag  a  little  animal  like  a 
white  rat;  turn  it  loose,  and  it  would  be  like  a  white 
elephant  with  two  wings  flying  against  the  enemy. 
The  four  brothers  were  killed  in  battle,  and 
appointed  the  guardians  of  the  doorway  in  Tartarus. 
There  is  a  sacred  book  called  "  The  Diamond  Classic ;  " 
to    believe    in    this    work    a   man    must    have  had    the 


236        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demojt. 

"  good  root "  planted  in  him  ten  hundred  times  ten 
thousand  years  ago.  In  the  second  temple  is  seen 
Matreya  Buddha.  —  He  is  also  called  "Me-me 
Buddha  "  and  "  The  Coming  Buddha,"  and  is  the  Messiah 
of  the  Buddhist  Church.  He  sits  tailor-fashion,  with  the 
centre  of  his  body  very  prominent,  and  in  his  hand  is  a 


The  Coming  Buddha. 

bag;  when  he  was  on  the  earth  the  people  called  him 
"  cloth-bag  priest,"  or  "carpet  bagger;  "  his  broad,  laugh- 
ing face  welcomes  the  worshipper.  At  this  time  Shak- 
yamuni  rules  the  Church ;  his  successor  will  be  Matreya, 
and  at  that  time  "  the  earth  with  its  five  evils  mingled  " 
will  be  purified. 

Just  in  the  rear  of  Matreya  Buddha,  back  to  back,  is 


The    W^orship  of  Bitdd/iism.  237 


Weito. — He  was  a  former  disciple  of  Buddha,  and  is 
now  the  protector  of  his  law.  As  one  of  the  most  hand- 
some of  the  gods  he  may  be  styled,  "  Apollo ;  "  he  stands 
facing  inwards,  with  a  golden  helmet  on  his  head  and  a 
rod  in  his  hand,  called  the  "  conquering  Satan  staff." 


\jy 


The  Protector. 


The  third  hall  is  the  principal  building  in  the  enclosure, 
and  is  really  the  temple  itself.  There  are  several  groups 
of  three,  we  see,  in  the  different  temples.  Sometimes  it 
is  Shakyamuni,  the  god  of  gods  and  lord  of  lords  in  the 
Buddhist  Church,  in  the  seat  of  honour,  with  Kashiapa 
and  Ananda  standing  on  the  right  and  left. 


238        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


Buddhas  of  the  Three  Ages.— Again  it  is  the 
Biiddhas  of  the  "  three  ages,"  the  ^'  Past,  Present,  and 
Future,"  the  three  images  alike.  The  central  figure 
is  Shakyamuni ;  the  image  on  the  left  representing  the 
many  Buddhas  of  the  past;  the  one  on  the  right  the 
Buddhas  to  come,  who  will  rule  the  Church,  ascending 


Long  live  the  Emparor 

the  throne  in   regular   succession  as  so  many  emperors. 
In  front  of  Shakya  is  the  tablet,  "Long  live   the  Em- 
peror ! "   literally,    "  The   Emperor  ten  thousand    years 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  years." 

Shakyamuni,  Wen-shu,  and  Pow-hien. — In  another 
temple  you  will  see  Buddha  in  the  centre,  and  Wen-shu 


The    Worship  of  Buadhism. 


239 


and  Pow-hien  on  either  side  ;  the  first  mounted  on  a 
green  lion,  the  second  on  a  white  elephant,  though 
sometimes  it  is  only  the  nose  and  foot  of  these  animals 
that  can  be   seen ;  the  first  is  the  god  of  wisdom,   the 


Eighteen  Lohans. 


second  the  god  of  action ;  the  first  is  worshipped  princi- 
pally in  Shanse,  the  second  in  the  Sze-cheun  province. 
They  are  "  ancient  Buddhas,  appearing  among  men  as  the 
helpers  of  Shakyamuni,  who  styles  the  one  'eldest  son' 
and  the  other  '  little  boy.'  " 


240        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

If  it  is  a  temple  for  the  worship  of  the  gods  of  Paradise, 
the  central  deity  is  Amita  ;  on  the  right  is  the  goddess 
of  mercy,  and  on  the  left  Tashuchi,  the  triad  styled  "  the 
three  sages  of  the  west."  There  are  also  groups  of  three 
in  the  other  temples — the  "  Three  Pure  Ones  ;  "  the 
"  Three  Precious  Ones  ;  "  the  "  Three  Holy  Sages  ;  "  the 
''  Three  Mandarins,"  and  the  "  Three    Mao." 

The  Eighteen  Lohans. — They  were  originally  six- 
teen, but  two  have  by  some  means  been  added.  They 
were  distinguished  members  of  the  Indian  Church,  and 


Articles  used  iu  Worship. 

passing  through  several  degrees  they  attained  to  the 
state  of  perfect  saints.  The  term  has  a  wider  significa- 
tion, and  sometimes  includes  the  five  hundred  sages 
whose  life-size  statues  are  seen  in  a  temple  at  Hangchow. 
The  Worship. — The  candles  used  in  worship  are 
made  of  the  grease  of  the  tallow-tree.  Incense  is  made 
by  taking  the  sawdust  of  sandal  wood,  making  it  into 
a  paste,  and  pressing  it  through  a  small  hole  in  an 
iron  machine.  It  comes  out  like  a  wire,  w^iich  is  cut 
into  sections  a  foot  long  and  sun-dried,  then  made  into 


16 


242         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


bundles  the  size  of  the  thumb.     Sometimes  the  incense 
is  in  sticks. 

The  paper-money  is  made  of  tin-foil  beaten  very  thin. 
One  often  sees  loads  carried  along  the  street  and  sold  at 
the  rate  of  ten  cents  for  ten  thousand,  rather  a  depre- 
ciated currency.  It  generally  represents  silver,  but 
sometimes  it  means  the   gold  coin  of  the  other  world. 


Load  of  Paper  Silk. 


There  are  also  paper  shoes  of  sycee,  their  ancient  currency, 
still  used  in  the  north.  These,  when  of  solid  silver, 
contain  fifty  ounces.  Paper  chopped  in  little  squares  is 
also  sold  for  money.  The  rolls  of  coloured  paper  in  the 
waiter  represent  silk.  The  trade  in  tin-foil  or  pewter 
beaten  thin  is  a  most  extensive  one,  and  gives  employ- 
ment to  ten  thousands  of  women.  After  one  of  the 
great  feasts  men  go  along  the  streets  and  gather  up  the 


The    IV or  si  lip  of  Btidd/iism.  243 


pewter  ashes,  purchased  at  a  nominal  price  ;  these  are 
reshipped  to  be  manufactured  over  again,  and  a  second 
time  used  in  worship. 

In  the  temple  court  stands  a  great  censer,  which  upon 
worship  days  smokes  with  the  fragrant  incense  cast  in 
by  those  who  come  to  adore  the  god.  In  front  of  some 
temples  13  a  stone  leaver  for  washing  hands. 


Crinoline  Incense. 

Often  hanging  in  front  of  the  shrine  is  incense,  in  the 
shape  of  a  crinoline,  and  this  burns  for  many  days. 

Oracular  Response. — The  worshipper  kneels  before 
the  idol  and  shakes  a  bamboo  cup  in  which  are  many 
little  sticks,  till  one  jumps  out ;  he  takes  it  to  the 
priest,  who  notes  the  number,  turns  to  a  musty  roll, 
and  gives  him  a  prescription  for  medicine  or  an  answer 


244         ^^^^  Drag07i,  Image,  and  Demon. 


of  the   oracle   telling  whether  or   no   his    business  will 
prosper. 

Absence  of  Devotion. — The  worship  of  the  heathen 
lacks  all  the  elements  of  true  devotion,  and  when  in 
preaching  the  missionary  uses  the  word  "  worship,"  he 
immediately  explains  that  it  does  not  consist  in  shaking 
the  clasped  hands  or  in  bodily  prostrations.  The  first 
element  of  worship  is  love,  but  how  can  we  love  wood, 


Inquiring  of  the  Oracle. 


mud,  and  stone  ?  A  second  element  is  comtnunion,  but 
what  communion  can  light  have  with  darkness  ?  Worship 
is  an  act  of  the  soul,  but  "  soulless  gods  make  soulless 
worshippers."  When  a  living  man  prays  to  a  dead  image 
his  heart  must  become  like  unto  the  dead  image.  "They 
that  make  them  are  like  unto  them :  so  is  every  one 
that  trusteth  in  them."  The  worship  is  debasing,  for 
though  they  speak  of  the  god  as  in  heaven,  yet  they 
maintain  that  worship  without    an   image   is  an    impos- 


The    Worship  of  Buddhism. 


245 


sibility  ;  so  how  can  the  heart  go  beyond  the  tangible 
and  visible  ?  An  aged  observer  says,  "  The  ceremonies 
performed  by  the  people  are  as  puerile  as  their  offerings 
are  paltry,  while  they  are  grievously  wanting  in  the 
necessary   elements    of   religious   w^orship.     We   observe 


Li.q-htino:  Candles. 


nothing  like  deep  moral  earnestness  and  solemnity  in 
their  prostrations  at  the  idol  shrine,  and  the  whole  is 
little  more  than  an  affair  of  mere  custom  or  form,  which 
they  are  satisfied  with  observing." 

The  Worshipping  Assembly. — One  striking  feature 
of  heathen  worship  is  the  short  time  spent  in  the  service  ; 


246         The  Dragon,  Image y  and  Demon. 

often  in  five  minutes  the  man  has  bowed  and  prayed, 
cast  his  lot  and  taken  the  answer,  left  the  temple,  and 
returned  to  his  business.  This  is  when  on  the  new  and 
full  moon  they  go,  one  by  one,  to  the  temples.  Morning 
and  evening,  sometimes  five  times  during  the  day  and 


Priests  at  Worship. 

night,  the  priests  of  the  temple  go  through  with  their 
daily  order  of  service.  Again,  a  family  spends  a  day  in 
worship,  or  the  representatives  of  a  village  come  in  a 
band,  or  a  goodly  company  of  women  meet  for  special 
services ;  how  is  the  worship  conducted  ? 

In  a  Christian  assembly  the  minister  is  one,  here  the 


The    WorsJiip  of  Buddhism.  247 

priests  are  many.  Without  is  a  busy  scene ;  hawkers  of 
fruits  and  cakes,  sedans  arriving  with  bundles  of  paper- 
money  tied  behind,  numbers  of  idlers  loafing  around,  all 
jovial  as  if  it  were  a  festive  occasion.  The  great  censer 
without  is  smoking  with  the  burning  incense,  thrown  in 
as  if  it  were  little  sticks  of  wood ;  the  candles  are  lighted 
and  stuck  upon  the  nails  on  the  framework  in  front  of  the 
deity;  the  brick  floor  of  the  temple  is  covered  every  few 
feet  with  mats  to  kneel  upon  ;  the  priests,  attired  in  their 
flowing  robes,  with  the  yellow  sash  thrown  across  one 
shoulder,  take  their  places  in  front  of  small  tables  ;  devout 
women  are  ranged  about  the  hall ;  the  grum  idols  sit 
facing  outwards,  and  the  worshippers  stand  facing  inwards. 
The  wooden  pestle  strikes  the  great  bell — Attention, 
gods  !  and  the  inverted  bell  is  constantly  tapped  ;  the 
chant  commences,  and  the  women  at  each  pause  join  in 
the  invocation;  the  priests  prostrate  themselves  and  knock 
their  heads  nine  times,  while  the  congregation  with 
bended  knee  bow  before  the  altar ;  the  priests  march 
round  and  round,  tapping  small  bells,  in  solemn  proces- 
sion, with  eyes  almost  closed  and  fixed  on  the  end  of  the 
nose,  in  number  ten  or  twenty  or  fifty,  and  once  I  saw 
one  hundred  and  twenty,  winding  in  and  out  according  to 
their  inextricable  methods  of  twistification  ;  candles  light 
up  the  sombre  spectacle,  the  fumes  of  incense  rise,  the 
gongs  are  sounded,  fire-crackers  explode,  paper-money  is 
burnt,  the  wooden  fish-head  is  struck  with  a  dull  heavy 
sound,  the  brass  cymbals  clang  !  clang  clang  !  the  voices 
commingle,  the  monotone  rises  higher  and  higher,  and 
gradually  almost  dies  away;  at  times  the  chanting  is  with 
the  rapidity  of  a  trotting-match,  and  again  solemn  and 


248         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

reverential ;  and  thus  it  continues  all  day,  save  when  the 
friars  enjoy  a  feast  ordered  by  the  lay-sisters  from  a 
neighbouring  restaurant. 

The  Three  Vows. — Yows  form  a  prominent  part  of 
heathen  worship ;  the  devotee  goes  before  the  idols  and 
makes  a  vow,  and  if  afterwards  it  is  unfulfilled  it  is 
considered  the  height  of  wickedness,  and  must  receive 
the  vengeance  of  the  gods.  The  formula,  "  I  take  my 
refuge  in  Buddha,  I  take  my  refuge  in  the  Law,  I  take 
my  refuge  in  the  Church,"  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. 

It  is  in  the  sacred  books  sometimes  enlarged :  "  I  take 
my  refuge  in  Buddha,  and  now  pray  that  all  creatures  may 
fully  understand  the  great  doctrine  and  beget  the  best  of 
hearts.  I  take  my  refuge  in  the  Law,  and  now  pray  that 
all  creatures  may  in  heart  understand  the  scriptures,  and 
their  wisdom  become  as  broad  as  the  sea.  I  take  my 
refuge  in  the  Church,  and  now  pray  that  all  creatures 
may,  with  all  the  assembly  of  the  faithful,  meet  with  no 
difficulties." 

Prayers. — There  are  five  blessings  for  which  the 
Chinese  pray, — sons,  riches,  long  life,  recovery  from 
sickness,  and  office.  The  hundreds  of  volumes  of  prayers 
and  chants,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  little  sutras, 
are  used  only  by  the  priests.  "  The  prayers  are  not 
prayers  in  our  sense  "  of  the  word,  for  "  there  is  nothing 
but  praise  and  invocation,  and  that  mostly  in  a  brief 
form."  I  have  read  volumes  of  prayer-books  to  try  and 
cull  out  the  prayers,  but  out  of  a  score  of  such  only  a 
few  sentences  have  been  obtained ;  they  consist  of  the 
pretended  words  of  Buddha,  praising  the  individual  god. 


The    WorsJiip  of  Biiddliisin.  249 

and  telling  of  his  famous  acts.  "  The  prayers  are 
chanted  by  the  priests,  either  sitting,  kneeling,  stand- 
ing, or  marching  around,"  but  they  "  kneel  to  adore 
images,  not  to  pray."  Keciting  the  teachings  of  Buddha, 
they  hope,  by  a  sort  of  magical  effect,  secret  causation, 
or  reflex  influence  of  the  image  on  their  minds,  to  obtain 
the  benefits  they  seek. 

The  following  prayer  is  selected  :  "  For  what  they  pray 
let  them  have  a  full  answer ;  lighten  the  path  of  the  good 
as  the  sun;  guide  the  wanderer  as  with  a  torchlight; 
scatter  sorrow  and  heat  like  the  cool  of  the  moon  ;  ferry 
the  four  classes  floating  along  the  stream  of  life  as  if  a 
bridge  were  built ;  be  as  a  lifeboat  to  convey  passengers  to 
the  other  shore  ;  subdue  infidels  as  the  king  of  the  lions  ; 
subdue  devils  as  a  dragon  or  an  elephant ;  protect  the 
frightened  as  a  relative  or  a  friend ;  defend  against 
enemies  as  a  moat  or  a  city ;  save  in  danger  as  a  father  or 
mother ;  hide  the  weak  like  a  thick  grove."  This  is  not 
for  use  by  the  people. 

In  Sanscrit — In  bringing  the  Indian  books  to  China, 
in  most  cases  they  did  not  translate,  but  merely  trans- 
literated the  litanies  syllable  by  syllable,  using  the 
written  character  to  imitate  the  sound.  A  native  teacher 
can  read  the  printed  page,  but  does  not  understand 
one  iota  of  the  meaning,  as  nearly  all  of  their  manuals 
of  devotion  are  in  Sanscrit ;  so  it  is  an  "  unknown 
tongue,"  verily  as  "  sounding  brass "  and  "  tinkling 
cymbal."  The  priests  understood  the  power  of  prayer, 
but  as  mediators  of  the  dismal  covenant  they  were  wise 
enough  to  retain  the  power  in  their  hands,  and  not  to 
make  the  blessings  accessible  to  all,  so  "  they  established 


250         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

an  elaborate  ritual,  interlarded  with  Sanscrit  phrases," 
that  they  might  impose  upon  the  people.  Perhaps  not 
one  in  a  thousand  of  the  priests  understands  his  own 
literature. 

One  of  the  sacred  books  gives  five  reasons  for  using 
Sanscrit — 1,  The  words  are  secrets  known  only  to  the 
Buddhas.  2.  Each  word  has  such  a  breadth  of  meaning 
that  it  cannot  be  translated.  3.  The  names  of  the  gods 
are  in  Sanscrit,  and  the  repetition  in  prayer  calls  on  them 
to  protect  men.  4.  The  words  are  the  secret  seals  of  the 
Buddhas.  5.  The  mysteries  are  beyond  the  power  of 
thought;  chant  these  secret  words  and  there  will  be 
hidden  benefits. 

Prayer  for  Rain — Much  of  the  religious  worship  of 
the  Chinese  is  summed  up  in  their  prayers  for  rain.  In 
time  of  drought,  when  the  "  heaven  is  brass  and  the  earth 
iron,"  a  religious  solemnity  seems  to  pervade  the  land. 
The  mandarins,  acting  under  the  double  motive  of  a  desire 
for  prosperity  and  a  fear  of  insurrection,  proclaim  a  fast 
from  animal  food,  forbid  the  sale  of  pork  and  onions,  go  to 
the  temples  with  lighted  sticks  of  incense,  call  upon  the 
priests  to  chant  prayers,  daily  go  before  the  gods,  and  if 
an  answer  is  not  given,  the  idol  is  placed  in  the  court 
under  the  beams  of  the  noon-day  sun,  and  sometimes  the 
lash  is  applied  to  his  back.  In  Soochow,  if  the  usual 
prayers  fail,  the  south  gate  is  shut,  as  heat  comes  from 
this  quarter,  and  from  the  hills  near  the  Great  Lake  a 
brass  image  of  the  goddess  of  mercy  is  brought  to  the 
city;  it  is  said  that  she  always  answers  the  prayers  for 
refreshing  showers.  During  the  official  services,  the 
Yamen  runners  in  the  temple  courts,  with  twigs  of  willow, 


The    VVoi'sJiit)  of  Buddhism.  251 

sprinkle  water  from  a  jar  as  an  emblem  of  the  falling 
drops. 

The  Emperor  himself,  if  the  drought  be  general 
throughout  his  dominions,  goes  to  the  temples  to  pray 
for  rain,  as  during  the  famine  of  1876  he  went  seventeen 
times.  "  In  these  seventeen  days  of  prayer  he  did  not  go 
from  place  to  place.  Having  prayed  at  any  temple  or 
altar  once,  he  continued  to  pray  at  the  same  temi)le  or 
altar  until  the  rain  fell.  Other  temples  or  altars  were 
added  to  those  at  which  first  he  prayed,  but  the  first  were 
not  deserted."  He  ordered  an  iron  tablet  to  be  brought 
from  the  dragon-god's  well  in  a  distant  city  to  Peking, 
to  be  worshipped  there.  "  Two  iron  tablets  had  been 
observed  floating  upon  the  water  in  that  well  years  ago, 
and  were  taken  out  in  times  of  drought,  that  prayer 
might  be  offered  to  them.  The  prayer  was  followed  by 
the  rain  in  a  surprising  manner."  This  well  is  now 
canonized,  and  so  is  one  of  the  deities  of  China. 

During  the  winter,  if  no  snow  falls,  the  Emperor  prays 
for  snow.  I  have  seen  the  mandarins  in  Soochow  on 
January  7th,  the  sky  clear  and  the  air  balmy,  go  to  the 
temples  and  pray  for  snow. 

The  manual  of  prayer  for  rain  contains  the  names  of 
thousands  of  dragons,  whose  names  are  called,  and  they 
each  in  turn  are  asked  to  send  fruitful  showers.  Before 
the  dragon-king  the  priests  say,  "  In  the  kingdom  which 
prays  for  rain,  let  a  great  rain  descend  and  fall."' 
"Quickly  destroy  all  trouble  and  sorrow,  quickly  send 
rain  and  moisten  this  great  earth,  quickly  protect  all  the 
living,  quickly  destroy  the  miseries  of  all  creatures  ;  turn 
the  evil  stars  to  propitious  seasons ;  arise,  great  pity,  and 


252         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

send  rain  ;  destroy  the  heavy  sins  of  all  creatures,  so  that 
they  may  dance  for  joy." 

How  solemn  are  the  words  of  Holy  Writ,  "  Are  there 
any  among  the  vanities  of  the  Gentiles  that  can  cause 
rain  ?  Or  can  the  heavens  give  showers  ?  Art  not  Thou 
he,  0  Lord,  our  Grod  ?  Therefore  will  we  wait  upon  Thee, 
for  Thou  hast  made  all  these  things." 

The  Buddhist  and  Taoist  Calendar — This  list  only 
includes  the  common  gods  of  the  nation.  It  is  very 
desirable  for  every  missionary  to  make  an  almanac  for  the 
local  deities  of  his  own  city,  so  that  the  preaching  may 
be  specific  and  appropriate,  not  general  and  desultory. 
This  list  corresponds  to  the  Koman  calendar  of  "  Saints' 
Days." 

First  Moon. 
1.— Birthday  of  "  The  Coming  Buddha." 


5. 

M 

God  of  Riches. 

7. 

It 

„      Silver. 

8. 

11 

„      Grain. 

9. 

n 

Heaven  or  The  Pearly  Emperor. 

10. 

J5 

Earth,  or  The   Earth-god,  worshipped  8th  to 
15th. 

13. 

n 

God  of  Agriculture.     Worshipped  13th  to  20th. 

15. 

» 

The  Three  Mandarins. 

Second  Moon, 

1. — Sun  enters  his  temple. 

2. — God  of  the  Precinct  (t'udee). 

3. — God  of  Literature. 

6.— The  Eastern  Peak. 

8. — Lucky  day  for  chanting. 
15. — Laotsze. 
19. — Kwanyin. 
28. — Worship  of  Bodhidharma. 


The    Worship  of  Buddhisui.  253 

Third  Moon. 
16.— God  of  the  Hills. 
19.— Birthday  of  the  Sun. 
23. — The  Empress  of  Heaven,  or  Goddess  of  the  Sea. 

Fourth  Moon. 

1. — Jail-god. 

4. — Wenshu  P'usa. 

8. — Amita. 
14. — Dr.  Leu  Chenyang,  the  ^sculapius  of  China. 
15. — Shakyamuni  Buddha. 
28.— God  of  Medicine. 

Fifth  Moon. 
1. — Star  of  old  Age. 

5. — God  of  Pestilence.     Ancestral  worship. 
11.— Governor  in    Hades    (corresponding    to    the    Governor  of 

Soochow). 
13.— God  of  War. 
18. — Chang,  The  Heavenly  Teacher. 

Sixth  Moon. 
10.— Leu  Hai. 

19. — Kwanyin  (three  birthdays  a  year). 
23.— God  of  Fire. 

24. — God  of  Thunder.     Vegetarians  from  1st  to  24th. 
25.— The  Star  Ruler. 
26.— God  of  Theatres. 
27.— Goddess  of  the  Pole  Star. 
29.— The  Devil. 

Seventh  Moon. 
13.— Tashuchi. 
15. — Ancestors. 

18. — Western  Empress  Mother. 
30. — God  of  Hades  (Titsang).     The  Devil's  Procession. 

Eighth  Moon. 
3. — Kitchen-god. 
4. — Northern  Bushel, 
15. — Moon-god. 


2  54         T^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


18. — Bacchus. 

22. — Light-Lamp  Buddha  (Janteng). 

24.— Thanking  the  Kitchen-god. 

Ninth  Moon. 

1 — 9. — Vegetarians  in  honour  of  the  Southern  Bushel. 

13.-Godof  War. 

16.— God  of  the  Loom. 

17. — Golden  Dragon  of  the  Yellow  Eiver. 

19.— Kwanyin,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy. 

Tenth  Moon. 

1. — Ancestral  worship. 
3.— The  Three  Mao. 
5. — Bodhidharma. 

Eleventh  Moon. 
4. — Confucius. 
17. — Amita. 
19.— Sun-god. 

Twelfth  Moon. 

20. — Carpenter's  god. 
23,  24. — Kitchen-god's  ascension. 
25. — Buddha's  descension. 

30.— Receiving  kitchen-god.      Worship  of  Heaven,  Earth,  and 
Ancestors. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE   IDOLATRY   OF  BUDDHISM. 


/CHINESE  idolaters  may  be  divided  into  three  general 
^^  classes,  the  devout,  the  sceptical,  and  the  careless. 
Of  the  men,  the  first  division  includes  only  a  few  in  the 
cities,  but  a  large  proportion  of  the  peasantry  in  central 
and  southern  China,  who  believe  that  the  gods  are  able 
to  help,  efficacious  in  sickness  and  distress,  and  who 
w^orship  with  some  regularity.  The  second  class  are 
Confucianists,  or  those  influenced  by  the  Confucian  tirades 
against  idolatry,  who  think  that  Buddhism  is  "  empti- 
ness," the  gods  mud  and  stone,  the  priests  drones  and 
hypocrites,  the  future  life  uncertain,  and  who  go  to  the 
temples  once,  or  a  few  times,  a  year ;  yet  even  they,  in 
times  of  sickness  and  death,  and  at  the  feasts,  betake 
themselves  to  idols.  The  third  class,  the  careless,  is  by 
far  the  largest.  The  Chinese  mind  is  practical,  worldly- 
minded  in  the  extreme,  and  fixed  upon  the  things  of  this 
life.  They  a.re  this -sidei^s.  The  great  body  of  the  people 
look  upon  religion  with  indifference  ;  in  their  liearts  they 
believe  in  the  gods,  but  in  their  lives  they  almost  neglect 
them ;  "  five  minutes  for  prayers,"  is  their  motto,  and 
that   every   two   or   three   months.     There   is    so   much 


256         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

worship  in  China  because  the  population  is  so  dense,  and 
not  a  few  are  frequently  engaged  in  devotion,  but  the 
average  is  small.  It  is  in  religion  that  we  see  the 
"  realism  of  the  Chinese." 

Worship  of  the  Seen. — The  formula  which  embraces 
heathenism  is  the  luorship  of  the  seen ;  there  is  a  sensible, 
tangible  object  placed  before  the  eyes,  and  the  thoughts 
need  not  go  beyond  this.  As  a  man  said  to  me,  "  We 
cannot  go  up  to  heaven,  so  we  bring  heaven  down  to  us  in 
the  form  of  an  image,  and  worship  it  here  on  the  earth." 
It  is  said  of  Christians,  "  They  do  not  worship  anything 
at  all;  they  talk  with  their  mouths  in  prayer,  but  they 
worship  nothing."  Our  devotions  are  spoken  of  as  "  wor- 
shipping in  the  void."  The  Chinese,  like  the  Jews, 
"  seek  after  a  sign,"  and  there  is  probably  no  doctrine  so 
absurd  in  their  eyes  as  that  Grod  is  a  Spirit ;  and  to  those 
who  from  their  infancy  have  been  taught  that  the  gods 
are  in  the  form  of  men,  there  is  no  part  of  the  Decalogue 
so  difficult  to  observe  as  the  second  commandment. 

The  gods  appear  to  Men — There  are  few  questions 
so  often  asked  us  as,  ''  Does  your  God  ever  appear  ? " 
"  Does  He  ever  show  Himself  to  men  ?  "  It  is  an  article 
of  the  nation's  faith  that  the  gods  are  often  seen  by  men ; 
on  the  hills  during  the  pilgrim-season,  the  deity  (or  a 
priest?)  is  seen  walking  to  and  fro  with  a  great  lantern  ; 
on  the  G-reat  Lake,  at  night,  mariners  in  small  crafts 
seeking  the  mouth  of  the  creek  say  that  often  a  beacon  is 
seen  ahead  (not,  of  course,  from  the  village  or  a  fisher- 
man's boat),  the  god  or  goddess  guiding  the  boatmen, 
who  afterwards  devoutly  pay  their  vows.  The  gods  in  the 
day  of  battle  appear  for  the  protection  of  the  army  ;  also 


The  Idolatry  of  Buddhism. 


257 


when  a  pestilence  is   sweeping  through  the  camp,    or  a 
storm  is  raging  at  sea. 

From  the  mirage  on  the  rice-fields  sometimes  a  town 
is  thro-wn  into  excitement,  and  tens  of  thousands  at  mid- 
night  crowd   upon    the  city  walls  to   behold   the   silent 


Idol  Factory. 

battle  fought  by  the  soldiers  of  Hades,  whose  battalions 
are  marshalled  on  the  nightly  plain. 

The  Idol  Factory. — The  manufacture  of  images  is 
an  important  branch  of  trade,  and  is  generally  considered 
a  profitable  industry.  It  is  not  an  art,  as  where  in  Italian 
marble  by  master-hands  the  body  of  man  is  chiselled 
in  proportions  so  majestic,  so  gigantic,  that  men  scarcely 

17 


258         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

know  which  most  to  admire,  the  sculptor  or  the  statue. 
The  Chinese  figures  are  misproportioned,  grotesque, 
and  hideous ;  their  faces  are  grum,  frightful,  and  repul- 
sive ;  if  sitting  they  are  awkward  and  clumsy,  when 
standing  the  images  are  both  fantastic  and  cadaverous. 
Why  these  hideous  idols  ?  Christianity  teaches  of  a  God 
of  love ;  paganism,  of  deities  who  will  punish  the  wrong- 


Unfinished  Images. 


doer.  The  gentler  attributes  of  the  Godhead — love,  pity, 
compassion,  gentleness,  longsulfering — are  little  taught 
by  heathenism. 

Walk  into  one  of  the  shops,  with  several  hundred 
images  of  all  sizes,  from  three  inches  to  ten  feet  high. 
If  of  wood  the  head  is  on  the  counter,  the  arm  on  the 
bench,  the  body  on  the  floor,  and  the  foot  on  the  shelf ; 
the  foot  is  pinned  to  the  leg,  the  leg  to  the  body,  the 


The  Idolatry  of  Buddhism.  259 


arm  to  the  shoulder,  the  head  to  the  neck,  and  lo  !  it 
is  a  god ! 

Opposite  the  shop,  basking  in  the  sun,  there  is  a  line 
of  rough  mud  daubs,  rude  and  shaggy,  drying  ;  for  bones 
they  have  a  framework  of  wood,  mud  for  flesh,  paint  for 
skin,  and  the  heart  is  made  of  silver  or  pewter.  Note  the 
hole  in  the  back.  A  frog,  snake,  lizard,  or  centipede  is 
caught  and  put  inside  for  the  soul,  and  then  it  is  a  living 
deity,  and  they  fall  down  and  worship,  and  say,  "  Deliver 
me,  for  thou  art  my  God."  In  the  temples  you  see  the 
large  images  at  every  stage  of  erection  ;  in  Wuseih  I  saw 
three  huge  images,  made  of  a  framework  with  laths  nailed 
on,  which  had  waited  months  for  the  plasterer. 

"  Men  rely  on  the  gods,  and  the  gods  rely  on  men," 
is  a  proverb  that  reveals  the  weakness  of  idolatry.  Men 
rely  on  the  gods  for  protection,  and  the  gods  rely  on  men 
for  repairs.  The  shrine  is  to  be  guarded,  the  sacred  body 
shielded,  the  clothing  refitted,  the  ear  mended,  the  nose 
replaced,  the  face  gilded,  the  hand  restored,  the  foot 
reset,  the  crown  rejewelled,  the  eyes  reballed,  and  some- 
times head,  arms,  and  legs  have  to  be  replaced. 

I  once  saw  a  stone  image  from  which  the  iconoclasts 
had  clipped  nose  and  ear.  Hundreds  of  worshippers  were 
at  the  shrine,  and  as  their  bodies  were  prostrate,  and 
incense  smoking,  workmen  were  busy  restoring  the 
organs  of  smell  and  hearing  with  putty,  and  in  order  to 
give  symmetry  to  the  face  the  whole  was  burnished  w^ith 
gold. 

The  images  are  made  of  breakable  materials  ;  some- 
times stone,  and  very  rarely  bronze ;  often  of  wood,  but 
mostly  of  mud,  which  being  sun-dried  easily  crumbles, 


26o        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


symbolized  by  the  feet  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  image,  part 
of  iron  and  part  of  clay,  which  "  the  stone  that  was  cut 
out  without  hands  "  brake  in  pieces. 

Large  Images. — Large  images  do  not  abound  in 
China;  some  impress  the  beholder  by  their  size,  but  a 
closer  examination  reveals  the  fact  that  the  throne  or 
pedestal  is  ten  feet  high.  Buddha  was  said  to  be  sixteen 
feet  high,  and  many  images  represent  him  as  this  height. 
In  Japan  there  is  the  celebrated  image  of  Buddha, 
Daibutz,  which  is  fifty-two  feet  in  height  and  very  broad ; 
it  is  of  bronze.  In  one  of  the  cities  of  the  metropolitan 
province  there  is  said  to  be  a  bronze  image  seventy  feet 
high.  "  In  the  largest  Lama  monastery  in  Peking  there 
is  a  colossal  image  of  Buddha  of  wood,  also  seventy  feet 
in  height."  There  is  one  at  Hangchow  cut  out  of  the 
solid  rock,  forty  feet  in  height.  Another  image  in  the 
Chehkiang  province  is  "  more  than  a  thousand  years  old, 
and  was  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock  by  the  labour  of  a 
father,  son,  and  grandson,  requiring  the  chiselling  of 
three  generations.  It  is  an  image  of  the  Coming  Buddha, 
the  working  out  of  an  idea  of  the  artisan  devotees  that 
the  Coming  Buddha  would  be  mighty  to  save,  seventy 
feet  high,  and  being  so  majestic  in  size  the  sight  is 
very  impressive." 

The  Dedication. — When  the  idol  is  taken  to  the 
temple,  the  gong  beats  in  thunder  tones,  the  clarionet 
sends  forth  shrill  notes,  the  cymbals  clang,  and  the  bells 
toll,  and  it  is  dedicated  amidst  ceremonies  not  quite  as 
gorgeous  as  when  the  image,  ninety  feet  high,  was 
erected  on  the  plain  of  Dura.  The  pupil  of  the  eye 
is  touched  by   an   artist,  called  "  open  the  light,"   and 


The  Idolatry  of  BttddJiism.  261 

then  it  becomes  a  real  divinity ;  before  this  rite  is 
performed  it  is  only  a  toy,  which  may  be  handled  and 
played  with ;  now  a  god,  the  people  light  candles  and 
incense,  bow  before  the  shrine,  and  witness  the  theatricals. 

Idolatry  as  an  Industry. — The  manufacture  of  images 
is  an  extensive  business,  but  as  an  idol  once  bought  is 
kept  for  years,  it  is  not  as  large  as  the  trade  in  articles 
of  worship.  The  tinfoil  for  paper  money  is  beaten 
thin,  pasted  on  bits  of  paper,  and  sold  in  packages. 
Candle  factories  employ  a  great  number  of  men,  as 
well  as  the  making  of  incense.  It  is  often  said,  ''  If 
we  embrace  Christianity,  what  will  the  large  part 
of  the  population  engaged  in  idolatrous  trade  do  ? " 
Eice  is  the  staple  diet,  but  the  number  of  shops  con- 
nected with  the  temples  is  much  greater  than  those 
which  sell  the  staff  of  life.  The  candle  and  incense 
shops,  the  Southern-goods  stores,  the  "  variety  shops," 
the  clothing  stores  for  the  dead,  the  paper-money  stalls, 
the  picture  galleries  of  the  gods,  with  the  thousands 
of  artists  employed,  the  incense  stands  in  front  of  the 
temples,  houses,  and  doors, — all  go  to  show  the  hold 
idolatry  has.  These  symbols  of  paganism  predominate 
to  the  south  of  the  Yangtse. 

Building  a  Temple — Along  the  streets  a  priest  is 
seen  clad  in  a  robe  like  a  patchwork  quilt,  a  picture 
of  Weito  the  Buddhist  protector  on  his  back,  a  small 
stool  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  stops  every  few  rods 
and  kneels,  beating  on  a  fish-head  and  uttering  a  shrill 
cry ;  thus  he  goes  for  three  years,  when,  being  well 
known  along  the  streets  and  his  devotion  well  attested, 
he  takes  a  book  and  collects  subscriptions.      The  monk 


262         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

who  founds  a  monastery  and  collects  funds  for  its  erection 
has  his  image  or  tablet  placed  within,  and  is  afterwards 
worshipped.  A  short  time  since,  speaking  to  a  priest  of 
his  temple  improvements,  he  said,  "  This  temple  I  built 
on  my  knees,"  meaning  that  he  had  made  the  money  by 


Collecting  for  a  Temple. 


reciting  masses  for  the  dead.  To  erect  a  temple  to  the 
god  of  the  precinct,  a  tax  is  often  levied  on  every  store, 
as  2  cash  per  cwt.  on  rice. 

A  priest  erects  a  thatched  hut,  sits  by  his  wooden  fish- 
head,  and  beats  all  day  and  late  at  night ;  the  old  ladies 


The  Idolatry  of  Buddhism,  263 


passing  by,  get  acquainted,  and  listen  to  the  golden 
opportunity  for  obtaining  merit  now  offered,  and  some 
one  gives  him  fifty  cents.  This  is  conspicuously  mounted 
on  a  slip  of  red  paper,  and  soon  the  whole  side  of  the 
house  tells  of  the  gifts— Mrs.  Lee  %\  ;  Mrs.  Ming  «200 ; 
Mr.  Loh,  25  cents;  Hon.  Mr.  Pan  $10;  Lady  Chang 
S5,  etc.,  etc.  The  hut  is  replaced  by  a  couple  of  rooms, 
and  gradually,  as  funds  accumulate,  never  running  into 
debt,  section  by  section  and  row  by  row  is  added.  In 
most  of  the  large  temples  there  is  a  legend  that  the 
timber  to  erect  the  buildings  was  miraculously  drawn  up 
out  of  a  well  in  the  court. 

The  quickest  method  is  by  circulating  a  story  of  the 
virtue  of  the  god,  as  in  Soochow  a  few  years  since,  where 
the  priests  pulled  up  a  stone  image  out  of  the  water,  and 
spread  a  report  that  a  lady  of  age  and  wealth,  who  was 
without  an  heir,  had  received  the  desire  of  her  heart. 
Immediately  streams  of  pilgrims  poured  towards  the 
shrine,  a  score  at  a  time  bowed  before  the  god,  genii-water 
(which  they  saw  dipped  up  out  of  the  canal  and  placed 
before  the  god)  was  sold  at  threepence  a  bottle,  knives  were 
electrified  by  rubbing  on  the  stone,  ophthalmia  and  various 
diseases  were  brought  to  the  Grreat  Healer,  and  when 
asked,  ''  Did  you  get  cured  ?  "  the  patient  would  answer, 
"  I  am  perchance  a  w^ee  bit,  a  very  little  little,  almost 
imperceptibly  better ; "  the  booth  at  first  put  up  was  re- 
placed by  a  substantial  building,  the  carpenters  and  masons 
were  busy  amidst  the  thronging  multitude  of  devotees, 
and  when  the  whole  was  completed,  a  mandarin,  who  was 
of  higher  rank  than  the  god,  coming  to  worship,  the  deity 
became  frightened,  and  his  efficacy  suddenly  departed. 


264         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


A  story  is  told  of  a  priest  who  circulated  a  report  that 
a  "living  Buddha"  was  about  to  arise  near  his  little 
temple.  By  night  he  dug  a  hole,  filled  it  with  beans, 
placed    an   image   above,    covered   the    earth   over,    and 


"  poured  on  water."  When  the  beans  began  to  swell,  the 
ground  began  to  crack,  and  the  people  began  to  gather, 
when  lo  !  the  new  Buddha  arose ;  he  was  received  as  a 
messenger  from  Hades,  and  his  temple  was  quickly  erected. 


The  Idolatry  of  Buddhism.  265 


The  Nail  Cage — A  cage  is  made  with  nails,  sharp 
and  pointed,  all  around  and  sticking  within,  and  the 
outside  is  covered  with  locks  of  different  metals.  The 
priest  takes  his  stand  inside,  speechless  and  immovable  ; 
other  priests  with  gongs  go  throughout  the  city  and 
country  collecting  crowds  to  witness  the  prisoner  of 
penance,  and  the  godly  are  exhorted  to  buv  off  a  lock, 


Hooked  into  the  Arm 

set  the  bonze  free,  and  obtain  merit.  After  three  days 
the  excitement  becomes  intense,  and  some  gold  (brass  ?) 
locks  go  at  i&bK}  or  ftiiUO  apiece. 

The  Tortures  of  Buddhism. — Men  make  vows  that 
they  will  appear  in  a  procession  with  a  censer  weighing 
five  or  ten  pounds,  fastened  into  the  arm  by  several 
little  brass  hooks,   so  that  the   flesh  is  drawn   down  an 


266         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

inch  or  two.  The  stick  in  the  hand  is  only  to  aid  in 
holding  the  arm  straight.  The  pain  is  excruciating,  but 
a  band  of  the  tortured  men  march  all  day  along  the 
streets  with  a  company  of  followers  to  beat  gongs. 

Stealing  Candles. — Behind  the  candle-rack  and  in 
front  of  the  images  stands  the  temple  assistant,  called 
the  "  incense-fire,"  who  receives  the  candles  from  the 
devotee  and  asks,  "  Where  do  you  want  these  placed  ?  " 
"  Oh !  light  two  in  the  middle  and  two  on  each  side,"  is 
the  reply,  as  the  worshipper  bows  to  pray  or  consult  the 
oracle.  The  "  incense-fire  "  sticks  two  on  the  rack,  and, 
on  account  of  the  press  of  customers,  puts  the  others 
aside.  As  soon  as  the  purchaser  turns  his  back  the 
candles  are  taken  from  the  rack  and  blown  out,  and  so 
there  is  carried  on  a  system  of  robbery,  wholesale  and 
retail,  according  to  the  size  of  the  congregation,  in  the 
very  audience  chamber  of  the  god,  the  whole  assembly 
being  witnesses.  They  say,  "  We  gave  the  candles  with 
a  pious  heart,  and  the  god  accepts  the  pious  heart,  though 
he  does  not  get  the  candles." 

"  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what." — Often  when 
a  throng  is  at  the  temple  the  question  is  asked,  "  What 
god  is  this  ?  "  The  man  who  has  just  made  nine  prostra- 
tions answers,  "  I  do  not  know."  "  What  is  the  name 
of  the  god  ?  "  is  asked  of  the  devotees,  and  they  answer, 
"  We  do  not  know."  When  the  city  gods  rotate  in 
office  upon  a  new  mandarin  taking  the  seals  of 
government,  how  is  an  acquaintance  possible  ?  If  you 
ask  for  the  history  of  the  idol,  what  he  was  celebrated 
for,  or  why  they  worship,  the  most  indefinite  answers 
are  given. 


The  Idolatry  of  Bttdd/iis7n.  267 


Compendium    of    gods — In   China    there    are    gods 
celestial    and    gods    terrestrial,     del    rtiajores    and    del 


Pantheon. 


minores ;  gods  of  heaven,  and  gods  of  hell ;  gods  of  the 
earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  of  thunder,  lightning,  wind, 
and  rain  ;  of  water,  fire,  wood,  earth,  and  metal  ;  and  of  tlie 


268         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

seas,  rivers,  mountains,  hills,  seasons,  snow,  frost,  tides, 
trees,  and  flowers.  There  are  Indian  gods  and  Chinese  gods; 
and  gods,  demigods,  Buddhas,  Bodhisattwas,  immortals, 
fairies,  ancestors,  emperors,  sages,  heroes,  warriors,  states- 
men, dragons,  devils,  demons,  and  spirits  are  worshipped. 


Gods  in  the  Clouds. 


There  are  500  disciples  of  Buddha,  500  disciples  of  Con- 
fucius, 72  masters,  60  cycle  deities,  and  36  prime  ministers 
to  be  sacrificed  to.  There  are  good  gods  and  bad  gods ; 
city  gods  and  country  gods;  the  gods  of  the  door,  the 
kitchen,  the  city  wall,  the  theatre,  and  the  prison.  The 
carpenters  have  their  gods  and  the  fishermen  theirs ;  so 


The  Idolatry  of  Buddhism.  269 

has  the  silk  merchant  and  the  saloon  keeper.  Horses, 
cows,  sheep,  snakes,  and  lice  have  each  their  presiding 
deities,  and  so  have  fire-crackers  and  fertilisers.  Pesti- 
lence, medicine,  small-pox,  and  measles  have  a  host  of 
gods.  The  eye,  ear,  nose,  tongue,  teeth,  heart,  liver, 
throat,  hands,  feet,  and  skin  have  each  a  special  god.  A 
bridge,  a  bed,  a  compass,  happiness,  tea,  and  salt  have 
their  presiding  deities.  At  Yangchow  there  is  a  temple 
with  10,000  gods. 

Some  gods  are  of  stone,  others  are  of  wood,  clay,  and 
bronze.  There  are  images,  pictures,  and  tablets.  There 
are  white  gods,  black  gods,  yellow  gods,  and  red  gods. 
The  smallest  are  an  inch  in  height  and  the  tallest  fifty  feet. 
A  god  can  be  purchased  for  half-a-cent,  and  another  will 
cost  a  thousand  dollars.  Some  are  the  laughing  Buddhas ; 
a  few  have  mild  and  beneficent  countenances,  while  the 
great  horde  have  hideous,  cadaverous  faces,  to  inspire 
awe  in  the  worshipper  and  frighten  the  impious.  The 
"  Pantheon  picture "  is  worshipped  on  New  Year's  day. 
Behind  Buddha,  facing  inwards  in  the  large  temples,  there 
is  in  basso  relievo  a  representation  of  the  gods  in  the 
clouds,  and  Neptune  rising  from  the  waves  of  the  briny 
deep. 

Places  of  Worship. — The  land  is  filled  with  idols. 
They  are  to  be  found  in  the  temple,  the  monastery,  and 
the  nunnery ;  in  the  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets ; 
on  the  streets,  at  the  crossings,  and  over  the  gates.  The 
Yamens,  stores,  workshops,  and  homes  all  have  them ; 
the  door,  the  main  entrance,  the  hall,  the  chapel,  the 
chamber,  and  the  roof  have  their  gods  ;  they  are  seen 
by  the  canals   and  the    bridges    and  on   the  boats ;   the 


270         The  Dragon,  Iviage,  and  Demon. 

shrines  in  the  alleys  and  the  miniature  temples  on  the 
table  are  full  of  them;  the  picture  galleries  give  an 
exhibit  of  celestial  beings,  and  they  are  "portrayed  on 
the  walls  "  of  public  halls,  and  at  times  the  face  of  a 
hill  is  carved  with  images ;  they  crown  the  mountain 
and  make  holy  the  cavern,  they  are  worshipped  in  the 
valley  and  under  the  "  green  tree," 

In  the  country,  meeting  an  old  man,  I  inquired,  "  Have 
you  any  gods  around  here?"  ''Oh,  yes,"  said  he.  "What 
gods?"  I  asked.  "The  Three  Pure  Ones."  "Any 
others?"  "The  god  of  the  fields."  "Any  others?" 
"  The  goddess  of  Mercy."  "  My  old  friend,  I  am  afraid 
your  gods  are  not  a  few."  "  Foreign  teacher,"  was  his 
literal  reply,  "  verily,  verily,  our  gods  are  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands." 

Dei  Majores. — Among  the  hosts  of  gods  the  reader 
would  like  to  have  pointed  out  those  most  worshipped. 
Buddha,  The  Pearly  Emperor,  Confucius,  The  Buddhas 
of  "The  Three  Ages,"  and  The  Three  Pure  Ones,  are 
high  deities.  Kwanyin,  the  goddess  of  Mercy  ;  Kwante, 
the  god  of  War ;  Amita,  the  god  of  the  Western  Heaven ; 
Titsang,  the  god  of  Hades ;  King  Yama  (Yen  Lowang), 
the  ruler  of  Hell,  are  "held  in  reputation.  The  gods 
of  Literature,  Agriculture,  Riches,  and  Thunder  are 
worshipped  often.  Of  equal  rank  are  the  goddess  of  the 
Pole  Star ;  the  Eastern  Peak ;  Leu  Chenyang,  the 
^sculapius ;  the  Three  Mandarins ;  the  triad  stars  of 
Happiness,  Office,  and  Age ;  and  last  among  these  twenty 
high  rulers,  and  by  no  means  the  least,  is  the  Devil. 

The  Abominations. — Heathenism  is  spoken  of  as 
"  the  images  of  abomination,"  "the.  idols  of  abomination," 


The  Idolatry  of  Bziddhisni.  271 

and  the  "abominable  idolatries."  Pagans  are  described 
in  the  Second  Commandment  as  "  them  that  hate  Me," 
and  the  sin  is  so  heinous  that  it  is  visited  even  upon 
the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  idolaters.  Because 
Jeroboam  "  made  other  gods,"  and  thus  caused  "  Israel  to 
sin,"  the  extinction  of  his  family  became  a  byword  in 
Judea  when  they  wished  to  speak  of  utter  destruction. 
Five  times  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  said  that  idolaters 
are  "  without,"  and  "  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God."  The  exposition  of  the  sin  and  folly  of  idolatry, 
occupying  as  it  does  such  a  prominent  position  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  would  furnish  material  for  a  series  of 
discourses  in  a  home  pulpit. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

MOUNTAINS,    ISLANDS,    AND   FESTIVALS. 

THE  sacred  mountains  in  China  are  truly  innumerable, 
for  there  is  not  a  towering  peak  or  lofty  summit 
which  does  not  wear  Buddha's  crown,  and  the  eye  of  the 
traveller  "  is  charmed  by  the  picturesqueness  of  pagodas 
perched  on  mountain  crags,  and  monasteries  nestling  in 
sequestered  dells."  Often  there  is  a  circlet  of  temples  in 
the  ravines  or  half-way  up  the  sides  of  the  hills.  Save 
under  the  Christian  dispensation  "  men  universally  have 
connected  the  worship  of  the  gods  with  hills  and 
mountains,  for  they  regard  their  gods  as  in  the  air  and 
their  abodes  as  in  the  heavens  ;  hence,  lofty  hills  towering 
to  heaven  seem  to  be  especially  near  the  gods,  and  hill- 
tops the  most  likely  places  to  reach  them  with  prayer." 
China  has  her  million  mountains,  at  times  the  hills  rising 
abruptly  from  the  rice-field  plains.  Some  of  the  provinces 
are  covered  with  mountains,  and  one  is  described  as  a  "  sea 
of  mountains  ; "  so  religion  from  the  high  places  attracts 
the  dwellers  on  the  plains.  Is  there  a  country  with  more 
picturesque  scenery  than  this,  where  mountain  and  plain, 
lake  and  river,  give  freshness  and  variety  to  the  view? 
Landscape  gardening  has  been  given  almost  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  the  priests,  who  have  terraced  the  hills  and 


Mountains,  Islands,  and  Festivals.         273 

planted  the  groves  to  invite  the  worshipper  to  ascend. 
Only  two  places  of  note  will  be  mentioned,  the  one 
belonging  to  the  Taoists  and  the  other  to  the  Budd- 
hists. 

Mount  T'ai. — This  mountain  is  considered  by  the 
Chinese  as  the  highest  peak  in  the  kingdom,  but  the 
barometer  gives  the  headship  to  others.  Its  height  from 
the  plain  is  near  4,000  feet,  but  above  the  level  of  the 
sea  it  is  much  greater.  It  is  in  the  Shantung  province 
in  North  China,  and  near  the  home,  school,  and  grave  of 
Confucius.  Mount  T'ai  is  an  ancient  sacred  mountain,  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty  successive  generations  of  men 
have,  year  by  year,  ascended  this  "  holy  hill."  "  Shun 
came  here  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  B.C.  22ii^^ 
presented  offerings  to  Heaven,  and  sacrificed  to  the  hills 
and  rivers.  It  is  certain  that  for  over  4,000  years 
Chinese  emperors  have  been  accustomed  to  come  here  to 
sacrifice  to  Heaven,  and  to  worship  the  mountain,  and 
during  all  these  centuries  it  has  been  an  object  of 
veneration  and  worship  to  millions  of  people.  Perhaps 
no  other  mountain  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  had  an 
equally  remarkable  history."  There  is  a  large  temple  in 
the  city  which  is  situated  at  its  base,  dedicated  to  its 
presiding  deity,  and  thither  many  pilgrims  resort,  but 
to  ascend  the  mountain  itself  is  the  object  of  many 
a  long  journey  in  wheelbarrows  over  roads  frightfully 
rough.  Chinese  books  say,  "Mount  T'ai  is  the  chief 
of  the  five  sacred  mountains.  Its  merit  is  equal  to 
Heaven,  and  so  it  is  appointed  and  called  the  equal  of 
Heaven,  the  Benevolent  and  Holy  Ruler.  It  is  Lord  of 
this  world,  and  determines  births  and  deaths,  misfortune 

18 


2  74         ^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

and  happiness,  honour  and  dishonour,  things  high  and 
great,  low  and  crooked." 

The  mountain  is  described  as  "not  an  isolated  peak, 
but  as  having  three  summits ;  the  central  one  being  the 
largest  and  highest.'*'  To  the  north,  there  is  "  nothing  but 
hills  upon  hills,  and  only  the  backs  of  successive  ranges  of 
mountains  can  be  seen  in  the  distance."  The  road  for  the 
first  mile  is  graded,  so  that  the  rise  is  gradual,  but  thence 
when  the  eye  is  uplifted  it  seems  like  a  stairway  to  the 
skies,  for  there  are  near  6,000  steps  of  hewn  stone,  each 
fifteen  feet  in  length,  leading  upward,  while  ''  on  both 
sides  of  the  road,  far  and  near,  every  peak  and  projecting 
rock,  every  cave  and  ravine,  every  stream  and  spring,  has 
its  name,"  and  temples  without  number  "  line  the  ascent 
and  crown  the  summit."  During  the  cold  month  of 
February,  the  pilgrims  are  from  5,000  to  10,000  daily,  and 
the  upward  march  is  continued  with  an  average  of  1,000 
during  the  next  two  months  ;  old  men  leaning  on  their 
staffs,  with  aged  matrons,  supported  by  their  grandsons 
and  followed  by  little  children,  all  conditions  and  ranks 
climb  this  precipitous  highway  to  burn  incense  on  this 
mountain  where  their  "  fathers  worshipped."  Heathenism 
makes  the  mountain  sacred,  Christianity  the  home. 
Mountain  worship  is  limited  to  time.  "  Believe  Me,"  saith 
Jesus,  "  the  hour  cometh,  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this 
mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father." 

Pootoo — The  most  lovely  spot  in  Far  Cathay  is  the 
sacred  isle  of  Pootoo,  two  hundred  miles  from  Shanghai, 
and  sixty  from  Ningpo,  from  which  latter  city,  in  another 
direction  overland,  is  reached  the  far-famed  Snowy  Valley. 
The  route  to  Pootoo  is  among  hundreds  of  islands,  great 


Mountains,  Islands,  and  Festivals.        275 

and  small,  all  mountainous,  which  compose  the  Chusan 
archipelago,  and  as  the  steamer  winds  its  tortuous  way 
among  them,  every  variety  of  wild  scenery  is  presented  ; 
now  the  precipitous  rocks  and  projecting  headlands,  the 
barren  knolls  and  rugged  crags ;  then  the  mountains 
covered  with  trees,  and  hills  beautifully  terraced  to  the  top 
with  waving  fields  of  grain  ;  or  villages  nestling  in  little 
bays,  or  encircled  in  foliage,  lying  on  the  water's  edge ; 
indeed  in  its  approaching  views  and  receding  vistas  it  is 
a  twin-sister  of  the  inland  Sea  of  Japan.  Pootoo  is  the 
capital  of  Indo-Chinese  Buddhism,  and  its  renown  is  as  far- 
famed  as  the  Chinese  language  is  spoken  or  Chinese  litera- 
ture known.  It  is  a  lofty  mountain-island,  five  miles  long, 
jutting  out  in  five  promontories,  having  broad  roads  paved 
with  flag-stones  running  over  the  hills  amidst  groves  and 
hedges,  and  under  the  overspreading  branches  of  forest 
trees  ;  with  beautiful  beaches,  where  roll  the  clear  waters  of 
the  mighty  ocean,  much  to  the  pleasure  of  the  visitor,  who 
may  for  a  week  or  two  months  dwell  in  the  hospitable 
monasteries,  enjoy  the  life-giving  surf,  breathe  the  health- 
restoring  air,  and  be  fanned  by  breezes  from  across  the 
trackless  Pacific.  Some  of  the  ascents  are  precipitous,  as  to 
the  lighthouse,  and  some  of  the  paths  wind  round  the  cliffs, 
with  the  mountain  overhanging  and  the  sea  in  full  view. 
There  is  a  deep  cave  in  a  rock  shaped  like  a  V,  which  is 
called  purgatory,  probably  because  the  tide  rushes  into  it 
with  such  a  thundering  sound,  dashing  the  spray  upon  the 
rocks  a  hundred  feet  above.  The  spectator  on  the  bridge, 
gazing  down  into  the  dark,  seething  depths,  could  almost 
imagine  it  to  be  the  gateway  of  the  bottomless  pit.  The 
sides  of  the  island  are  lined  with  caves  and  caverns,  and 


276         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

sacred  inscriptions  are  engraved  upon  the  boulders.  There 
is  the  well  of  the  genii,  the  Indian  Pagoda,  the  furnace  for 
cremation,  and  lakes  made  gay  by  the  white  and  crimson 
lotus.  The  temples  number  one  hundred  ;  from  the  small 
building  with  its  solitary  occupant  to  the  spacious 
monastery  having  its  retinue  of  bonzes,  or  up  to  The 
Temple  which  is  in  itself  a  little  village,  spread  out  over 


The  Hermit. 

a  whole  valley.  Some  of  the  sacred  edifices  are  built  on 
barren  precipices  overlooking  the  sea,  others  stand  out 
upon  the  promontories,  while  the  shore,  the  half-way  ascent, 
and  the  lofty  summit,  all  have  their  temples.  The  roofs 
of  the  two  large  templ'es  of  yellow  porcelain,  an  imperial 
gift,  are  in  striking  contrast  with  the  green  of  the 
surrounding  bamboo  forests,  and  glitter  amidst  the  waving 


Adountains,  Islands,  and  Festivals.        277 

branches  of  the  stately  camphor,  venerable  groves  of 
which  surround  these  old  temples,  and  their  overspreading 
arches  impress  the  beholder  with  the  grandeur  ;md 
majesty  of  nature.  The  whole  isle  seems  truly 
enchanted,  and  is  made  as  lovely  as  Chinese  mind  can 
conceive  or  Chinese  skill  can  execute. 

In  the  one  hundred  temples  are  one  thousand  priests, 
who  own  property  on  the  adjacent  islands  and  receive 
fees  from  the  worshippers,  who  come  on  junks  and  steamers. 
The  last  time  I  was  there,  a  Shanghai  compradore  paid 
£160  for  the  masses  to  be  recited,  seven  days,  for  the  soul 
of  his  father,  who  died  in  Canton.  Sometimes  a  liberal 
patron  furnishes  a  feast  to  the  priests,  and  it  is  an  in- 
teresting spectacle  to  witness  three  hundred  priests  seated 
in  the  refectory.  The  island  is  governed  by  two  abbots, 
chosen  by  ballot,  who  hold  office  for  three  years.  No 
woman   can  dwell  there. 

In  the  spring  and  autumn  pilgrims  are  numerous,  and 
here  the  junkmen  stop  to  pay  their  devotions  to  Kwan- 
yin,  whose  throne  is  Pootoo.  For  centuries  pirates  were 
the  terror  of  the  men  with  the  yellow  robe,  but  since 
foreign  commerce  has  driven  these  from  the  high  sea 
great  activity  has  been  displayed  in  sacred  architecture. 

Theological  Seminary. — The  priests  are  an  idle, 
listless  class,  and  care  nothing  for  the  library  of  five 
thousand  volumes.  At  the  lecture  the  bonzes  sat,  tailor- 
fashion,  with  their  books  on  the  table  in  front,  while 
an*  attendant  passed  behind  and  replenished  the  tea- 
cups. The  professor,  mounted  on  a  high  dais,  with  a 
stick  of  burning  incense  to  mark  the  length  of  the 
lecture  (about  two  hours),  expounded  the  text,  and  often 


278         The  D^^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

seemed  to  think  an  anecdote  was  in  place,  much  to 
the  amusement  of  the  sixty  priests,  though  some- 
times, it  was  thought,  at  the  expense  of  his  foreign 
visitor. 

Religion  as  a   Holiday — In   every   land,  at  certain 


Theological  Lecture. 


seasons,  religion  wears  a  holiday  attire ;  much  more  is  it 
necessary  in  this  country,  where  heavily  burdened  men 
and  toiling  women  have  so  few  opportunities  for  enjoy- 
ment. The  religious  recreations  are  of  three  classes, 
pilgrimages,  processions,  and  theatricals. 

Pilgrims.— In  Central  China,  during  the  soft  days  of 


Mountains,  Islmids,  and  Festivals.        279 

spring,  to  the  llangchow  temples  alone  peilia[)s  a  million 
pilgrims  resort.  Some  devotee  makes  up  a  party  mostly 
of  women,  though  the  men  go  in  great  numbers,  and 
charters  a  boat,  in  which  they  pack  like  sardines,  minus 
the  oil.  They  chant  their  prayers  as  the  boatmen  row, 
go  to  the  mountains,  visit  the  West  Lake,  so  celebrated 
in  poetry,  ascend  with  the  mighty  army  whose  badge  is 
a  yellow  incense  bag,  talk  with  the  priests,  buy  a  wicker 
basket  and  a  bamboo  chair,  and  return  after  a  ten  days' 
trip. 

Idol  Processions — To  every  hamlet  in  the  country 
the  god  of  agriculture,  as  well  as  the  local  deities,  must 
be  carried.  The  most  exciting  days  in  Soochow  are  ai 
the  three  great  feasts — fifth  moon,  fifth  day  ;  eighth  moon, 
fifteenth  day  ;  and  tenth  moon,  first  day — when  the  man- 
darins go  out  with  their  official  trains  to  offer  sacrifice 
to  the  wild  spirits.  About  thirty  idols  are  taken  out, 
each  with  a  long  retinue,  so  that  the  line  extends  over 
a  mile ;  the  whole  city  is  out  in  holiday  attire,  and  the 
narrow  street  to  the  Tiger  Hill  is  almost  impassable  from 
the  dense  mass  of  human  beings.  In  the  picture,  the 
gong  opens  the  way,  the  official  signboards  of  the  go 
follow;  then  lictors  dragging  bamboos,  flag-bearers,  the 
great  fan,  and  cavalry  move  onward  ;  then  come  two  men 
with  necks  twisted,  and  faces  all  awry,  who  walk  many 
miles  looking  sideways  at  one  another  in  the  face — it  is 
a  laughable  spectacle.  Then  come  the  red  umbrellas  and 
streamer-bearers;  and  besides  these  there  are  criminals 
in  red  robes,  men  with  hooks  fastened  in  their  arms,  to 
which  are  suspended  bronze  censers,  riders  bearing  the 
credentials    and    seals  of  office,  coolies  carrying   trunks, 


Mountains,  Islands,  and  Festivals.        281 


followers  with  red  girdles,  men  dragging  chains,  Httle 
children  carried  on  a  man's  head  (Cupids),  and,  most  con- 
spicuous, six  or  eight  fat  butchers,  who,  with  open  breasts, 
act  as  the  executioners  (of  Hades),  and  go  panting  by  ; 
then  comes  the  god  in  open  chair  and  embroidered  robes. 
Heathenism    Fascinating When    the    procession 


Temple  Theatre. 

returns  at  night  with  lanterns  lit,  gongs  beating,  the 
runners  whooping,  the  idol  looking  majestic,  and  the 
people  bowing,  one  appreciates  the  magnetism  of  a  crowd, 
and  understands  how  a  pageant  may  impress,  and  paste- 
board and  tinsel  captivate. 

Theatricals. — Paganism  is  an  amalgam  of  the  Church 


282         The  Dragon,  Intake,  and  Demon. 

and  the  world  ;  the  theatre  is  one  of  its  forms  of  worship, 
and  then  the  stage  actors  are  the  priests.  The  temples 
have  a  stage  opposite  the  sacred  shrine,  and  the  picture 
represents  the  biennial  festival.  If  men  love  to  go  to  the 
theatre,  why  not  the  gods  ?  In  the  farm  villages  twice  a 
year,  at  the  religious  theatricals,  thousands  assemble  in 
the  open  grounds,  hucksters  and  pedlars  surround  the 
assembly,  the  idol  is  brought  out  in  state,  and  the  scene 
is  a  "Vanity  Fair."  The  play  days  are  fixed,  so  the 
people  go  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  to  attend  the  shows. 
In  home  lands,  those  who  find  more  delight  in  the 
theatre  than  in  the  church,  are  they  Christians  or  are 
they  Buddhists? 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WOMEN   AND   BUDDHISM. 

'T^HE  women  of  Christian  lands,  outside  the  home 
^  circle,  have  three  leading  sources  of  pleasure, 
namely,  education,  society,  and  religion.  In  China,  as 
ignorance  takes  the  place  of  the  first  and  seclusion  of 
the  second,  the  only  spring  of  happiness  which  is  available 
to  the  benighted  daughters  of  Sinim  is  religion.  It  is 
pleasant  for  them  to  go  to  the  temples  and  burn  incense, 
though  frequently  prohibited  by  the  mandarins,  whose 
proclamations  for  a  few  months  only  can  stem  the  tide 
of  paganism.  It  is  pleasant  for  a  party  of  neighbours  on 
the  idol's  birthday  to  assemble  at  the  nunnery,  and  have 
a  feast,  a  social  chat,  and  an  all-day  chant.  It  is  pleasant 
for  the  caged  birds  of  rich  plumage  twice  a  year  in  a  boat 
to  visit  the  temples  on  the  hills,  breathe  the  fresh 
country  air,  and  gather  flowers.  In  every  land  religion 
takes  a  deeper  hold  on  the  hearts  of  women,  in  their 
quiet  spheres,  than  of  men,  who  in  the  busy  marts  are 
subjected  to  the  temptations  of  the  great  world  without. 
This  is  specially  true  of  the  women  of  China,  as  three- 
fourths  of  the  worshipping  is  performed  by  the  gentler 
sex,  and  probably  seven-eighths  of  the  three  hundred  or 
four  hundred  million  dollars  spent  annually  in  idolatry 


284         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


are  contributed  by  toiling  females,  who  scarcely  have 
money  to  purchase  coarse  food.  In  their  minds  there 
are  no  sceptical  doubts  as  to  the  truth  of  their  religion, 
and  in  their  hearts  they  love  the  gentle  goddesses,  and 
fear  the  gods  who  hold  the  fire-brand,  wield  the  sword, 
or  hurl  the  thunderbolt. 

Nunneries — There  are  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
nunneries  in  Soochow,  with 
an  average  perhaps  of  a  half- 
dozen  nuns  to  each,  quite  a 
number  of  them  youthful, 
but  others  aged  matrons,  who 
have  great  influence  in  the 
aristocratic  families  of  the 
city  as  the  spiritual  guides  of 
the  ladies,  and  who  have 
power  to  checkmate  a  pro- 
clamation of  the  Grovernor 
by  influencing  his  wife  to 
plead  in  behalf  of  their  order. 
As  their  raiment  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  priests,  and 
their  heads  are  shaven,  it  is 
hard  to  tell  a  nun  from  a  priest.  Every  day,  before  the 
first  rays  gild  the  horizon,  we  are  saluted  by  the  dull 
sound  of  the  mallet  on  the  wooden  fish-head,  the  nuns 
being  paid  for  an  interest  in  their  prayers,  and  it  is 
supposed  they  worship  before  the  shrine,  whereas  on  a 
frosty  morn  the  fish-head  is  placed  beside  the  couch. 
Some  of  these  establishments  own  property  which  yields 
an  income ;  some  are  family  nunneries,  where  a  lady  of 


The  Nun. 


Women  and  Buddhism. 


285 


wealth  takes  the  veil,  and  to  one  of  those  in  8ooc-ho\v 
the  Emperor  Kienlung  gave  the  "  Heart  Sutra,"  written 
with  his  own  hand  ;  in  some  the  "  vestal  fire  "  (j[ni\i  onih 
ten)  is  kept  burning ;  in  others,  the  inmates  eke  out  a 
poor  subsistence  by  "  beating  the  autumn  wind,"  i.e., 
carrying  as  a  present  dishes  of  vegetables  at  the  regular 


Goddess. 


feasts  to  the  rich,  expecting  a  gift  in  return ;  while  still 
in  others  the  old  women  have  a  "  Buddha's  way,"  i.e., 
they  meet  once  a  month,  and  each  contributes  so  much 
paper  money,  which  is  burnt  at  the  death  of  the  first 
member  of  the  circle. 

The   Goddesses. — Many  of  the  gods  have  their  wives 


286         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

in  the  inner  apartments  of  the  temple  ;  there  is  the  bed, 
the  bureau,  the  trunks,  and  four  maids,  one  to  comb  the 
hair,  one  to  wash  the  face,  one  to  hand  tea,  and  one  to 
present  the  food.  In  North  China  women  who  recover 
from  sickness  bring  a  little  woman  wdth  plaster-of-Paris 
face  and  real  hair,  place  her  beside  the  goddess,  and  let 
her  remain  three  years  before  burning  ;  this  is  to  certify 
that  she  will  be  a  servant  to  the  goddess  in  Hades. 
Near  our  city  temple  two  women,  Mrs.  Chow  and  Mrs. 
Cash,  receive  the  offerings  thrown  into  the  coffer,  because 
they  arrange  the  hair,  wash  the  feet,  and  dress  the  wooden 
goddess.  These  ladies  of  the  other  world  are  often 
worshipped  by  the  sick. 

Ancestral  Benefits — "  An  indirect  result  of  ancestral 
worship  has  been  to  define  and  elevate  the  position  of 
wife  and  mother.  All  the  laws  which  could  be  framed  for 
the  protection  of  women  would  lack  their  force  if  she  w^ere 
not  honoured  in  the  household.  As  there  can  be  only 
one  '  illustrious  consort '  named  on  the  tablet,  there  is  of 
course  only  one  wife  acknowledged  in  the  family.  .  .  . 
This  acknowledged  parity  of  the  mother  with  the  father 
in  the  most  sacred  position  in  which  she  can  be  placed 
has  done  much  to  maintain  the  purity  and  right  influence 
of  woman  amid  all  the  degradations,  pollutions,  and  moral 
weakness  of  heathenism." 

Buddha's  Doctrine  of  Women — Thus  spake  the 
founder  of  the  Indian  religion  :  "  A  woman's  body  has 
many  evil  things  in  it;  at  birth  her  parents  are  not 
happy ;  rearing  her  is  '  without  taste  ; '  her  heart  fears 
men ;  she  must  rise  early  and  late,  and  be  very  busy ; 
she  can  never  eat  before  others ;  her  father  and  mother 


Women  and  Bnddhisni,  287 


begrudge  the  money  to  be  spent  on  her  wedding  ;  slie 
must  leave  father  and  mother ;  she  fears  her  husband 
and  has  times  of  travail ;  if  her  husband  curses  her 
she  is  not  permitted  to  get  angry;  in  youth,  father  and 
mother  rule  ;  in  middle  life,  her  husband;  in  old  age  she 
is  at  the  beck  and  call  of  her  grandchildren." 

The  Lake  of  Blood — The  sacred  book  most  frequently 
used  by  the  Buddhist  priests  is  the  Lake  of  Blood  Sutra. 
On  their  knees  they  chant  it  for  a  price  paid  by  the 
women,  as  the  men  have  no  part  in  this  lake,  over  which 
the  blackness  of  darkness  broods,  where  the  thirsty  have 
only  blood  to  drink  and  whose  stench  ascends  to  the 
skies.  Every  female  is  born  a  debtor;  a  debtor  to  what  ? 
A  debtor  to  the  Lake  of  Blood,  and  this  debt,  if  not 
cancelled  in  this  life,  must  be  paid  in  the  world  to  come. 
And  for  what  crime  do  Buddhists  consign  woman  to  this 
fearful  destiny  ?  The  crime  is  maternity.  Also,  those 
whose  light  is  put  out  so  suddenly  in  childbirth  go  imme- 
diately to  this  lake.  The  soul  is  filled  with  horror  at 
this  shocking  doctrine  ;  the  heart  sickens  at  this  ghastly 
spectacle.  When  we  behold  punishment  following  crime, 
though  we  shudder,  yet  our  innate  sense  of  justice 
approves,  but  the  blackest  spot  on  the  dark  face  of 
Buddhism  is  that  its  most  terrible  retribution  is  awarded 
to  the  innocent,  and  that  to  one  half  of  the  human 
family. 

The  monks  by  this  fill  their  coffers,  for  all  mothers 
must  pay  this  debt,  and  then  the  lily-boat  will  ferry  them 
across  the  lake.  The  priests  tap  the  temple  bell,  and 
within  the  bell  is  suspended  a  paper  woman  (with  a  notice 
of  the  name,  age,  day,  and  hour  of  death  stuck  on),  and 


2  88         TJie  Dj^agon,  Image,  and  De^non. 


when  the  bell  is  struck  it  causes  the  woman  to  move,  thus 
elbowing  herself  out  of  the  pool ;  twice  a  day  for  forty- 
nine  days  they  chant,  while  an  assistant  beats  the  bell. 
At  least  thirty  dollars  are  paid  as  a  fee.  Sometimes  to  save 
a  woman  the  Soochowites  take  a  bowl  of  sweetened  water, 
and  cover  it  with  red  paper  while  the  monks  chant ;  then 
the  abbot  takes  his  wand,  tears  the  paper,  and  declares  that 
the  woman  is  saved  from  the  placenta  tank — the  children 
and  friends  drinking  the  sugared  water — by  metonomy, 
the  Lake  of  Blood. 


Child's  Hat. 

The  Heathen  Mother  is  very  faithful  in  teaching 
her  children  to  worship  idols,  so  that  the  first  step  in 
evangelisation  is  to  convert  the  mother.  On  the  first  and 
fifteenth  of  every  month  a  mother  is  seen  leading  her 
little  toddler  before  the  idol  shrine,  who  is  impressed  by 
the  majestic  appearance  of  the  deity,  and  draws  back  in 
terror,  but  after  he  knocks  his  little  head  on  the  mat  he 
is  convinced,  by  the  gift  of  candy  or  pea-nuts,  that  it  pays 
to  burn  incense.  The  first  hat  given  to  a  baby  is  covered 
with  six,  twelve,  or  eighteen  little  idols  ;  the  first  play  is 


Wo7iien  and  B7iddJiis7n.  289 

a  mock  sacrifice  ;  the  first  amusement  is  to  carry  the 
idols  in  a  chair  on  their  little  shoulders,  and  the  first  lesson 
in  school  is  to  bow  before  an  image  or  tablet  ;  so  that  the 
child,  like  a  fish,  swims  in  the  Grand  Canal  of  paganism. 
On  his  birthday  they  worship  the  goddess  of  midwives, 
and  also  offer  sacrifice  when  he  is  a  month  old.  When 
the  child  is  one  hundred  days  old,  if  a  boy,  they  worship 
the  male  star-ruler;  if  a  girl,  the  female  star-ruler.  When 
a  year  old  they  worship  the  star-ruler. 

The  Dead  Child — There  is  no  Paradise  for  little 
ones  when  called  away  from  earth.  The  god  to  whom  a 
parent  has  an  unfulfilled  vow  claims  one  as  a  prize  ; 
another  is  caught  by  the  evil  spirits  and  borne  away, 
while  generally  they  say  it  is  a  debtor  that  demands  his 
price  ;  one  to  whom  he  was  an  enemy  in  a  previous  life 
now  seeks  revenge,  and  murders  his  foe,  the  innocent 
little  child.  Often  no  coffin  is  prepared ;  no  funeral 
service  is  ever  held,  and  the  bones  are  sometimes  buried 
by  a  running  stream  to  secure  an  early  transmigration. 
The  death  of  a  boy  or  girl  is  simply  the  blotting  out  of 
a  star.  Does  not  the  broken-hearted  pagan  mother  feel 
that  there  is  something  in  a  religion  with  the  words, 
"  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  Me  "  ? 


19 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    HEART   OF   BUDDHISM. 

Buddhism  and  Roman  Catholicism. — The  traveller 
who  notes  the  similarity  between  these  two  great 
systems  of  faith  and  worship  must  on  comparison  con- 
clude that  Romanism  is  Buddhism  prepared  for  a 
foreign  market, — Buddhism  adapted  to  a  Western  civi- 
lisation. The  question  troubled  the  earlier  Catholic 
missionaries,  and  "  Premare  ascribed  these  ceremonies  to 
the  devil,  who  had  thus  imitated  holy  mother  Church,  in 
order  to  scandalise  and  oppose  its  rites.''  "  To  those  who 
admit  that  most  of  the  Romish  ceremonies  are  borrowed 
from  paganism,  there  is  less  ditficulty  in  accounting  for 
the  resemblance." 

1 .  In  both  these  systems  it  is  a  tuorship  of  jpictures 
and  images,  the  worship  of  the  seen.  As  has  been  said 
to  me,  "  Hang  up  a  picture  of  your  Jesus,  and  there  will 
be  a  thousand  of  us  to  w^orship  it  in  a  day."  In  the 
cathedrals  they  bow  before  each  of  the  pictures  hanging 
around  the  hall,  and  suspended  to  the  girdle  (in  bronze 
or  wood)  is  the  Son  of  Mary. 

2.  Both  pray  in  an  unknoivn  tongue;  the  Romanists 
in  Latin,  and  the  Buddhists  in  Sanscrit. 

3.  Both  systems  use  candles  and  incense ;  the  Catholics 


TJie  Hea7^t  of  BuddJiism.  291 

say  they  do  not  use  "  tallow  candles  "  but  "  angel-candles," 
i.e.^  sperm  candles. 

4.  The  two  religions  are  alike  in  having  masses  for  the 
dead ;  purgatories  from  which  souls  may  be  released  by 
the  prayers  of  the  priests. 

.?.  Rosaries.  Both  the  Buddhist  and  the  Eomanist 
count  their  beads. 

6.  The  vain  repetitions.  The  substitute  for  Ave  Maria 
is  o-me-to-fnh. 

7.  The  celibacy  of  the  clergy, 

8.  Nuns  and  nunneries. 

9.  The  adoration  of  relics.  The  Indian  religion  has 
paid  no  more  distinguished  honour  to  Buddha's  bones 
than  Rome  has  given  to  Peters. 

10.  Both  religions  are  based  on  systems  of  merit;  on 
penance  and  works  of  supererogation. 

11.  Priests  from  India  and  France  both  adopt  the 
heathen  rites  of  the  Chinese.  The  proofs  in  regard  to 
the  former  are  scattered  through  this  work.  As  to  the 
latter,  on  a  Catholic  altar  in  Shanghai  the  dragon  and 
cross  are  united.  It  is  according  to  the  Chinese  ideas  to 
worship  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  but  why  not  the  Father  ? 
To  meet  this,  the  Pope  has  made  Joseph  the  patron 
saint  of  China,  so  on  the  scrolls  he  is  designated,  "  The 
third  man,"  i.e.^  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph. 

12.  Pretended  m^iracles.  The  priests  of  Rome  claim 
miraculous  cures,  and  pretend  here  to  be  exorcists. 

13.  As  Rome  spends  her  tens  of  thousands  on  proces- 
sions, so  does  Buddhism. 

14.  The  worship  of  saints.  "  Chinese  demigods  are 
exchanged  for  foreign  saints,  with  this  difference,   that 


292         The  Dragon,  Ijjtage,  and  Demon. 


now  they  worship  they  know  not  what,  while  before 
they  knew  something  of  the  name  and  character  of  the 
ancient  hero,  from  popular  accounts  and  historical  legends." 
To  see  how  similar  the  saints'  days  of  the  Catholics  are 
to   the   idol    birthdays,    see    the    "  Buddhist   Calendar," 

in  Chapter  XIIT. 

15.  Floiver-ivorship  is 
the  ornate  feature  of 
each  religion;  the  altars 
are  alike  decorated  with 
beauteous  wreaths  and 
bouquets  of  sweetest  per- 
fume, the  woods  and  the 
gardens  supplying  what 
is  lacking  in  the  hearts 
of  the  worshipper. 

16.  Mary  the  holy 
31  other  finds  her  perfect 
counterpart  in  Kwanyin, 
the    goddess    of    mercy. 

.^^,  ^  -^,,        /  X  (v-v^^^x         Let  the  reader  judge  for 
^^V^^JiSl^^m.  himself  whether  Roman- 

ism is  not  simply  white- 
washed Buddhism. 

Kwanyin,  The  god- 
dess   of    Mercy We 

come  now  to  the  aesthetic  in  Chinese  Buddhism.  As  INIary 
is  the  guiding  spirit  of  Rome,  so  Kwanyin  is  the  guardian 
angel  of  the  Indian  faith.  A  fact  to  be  noted  is  that 
all  false  religions  have  female  deities,  and  exalt  their 
goddesses ;  it  is  because  woman's  gentle  heart  is  so  easily 


Kwatiyin  in  White  Eobes. 


TJie  Heart  of  Biiddhisin. 


293 


touched,  a  mother's  tender  love  being  everywhere  known, 
and  that  a  woman  is  more   approachable    than    a   man. 


The  Thousand-Handed  Kwanyin. 


Kwanyin   was   originally    a   man,    but   by    a  convenient 
metamorphosis  he  was  changed  into  a  lady. 

''  It  would    seem  to    be   a  fiict   important   in    modern 
Buddhist  history,  that  the  most  popular  of  the  divinities 


294        T^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

of  this  religion  should  be  presented  first  with  male  and 
afterwards  with  female  attributes,  and  that  the  change  of 
sex  in  the  images  should  have  been  accomplished  within 
the  last  few  centuries." 

Fragrant  Mountain  Liturgy — A  few  extracts  are 
given  from  this  work.  Kwanyin  was  the  third  daughter 
of  a  king,  beautiful  and  talented,  and,  when  young,  loved 
to  meditate  as  a  priest.  Her  father,  mother,  and  sisters 
beseech  her  not  to  pass  the  "  green  spring,"  but  to  marry, 
and  the  king  offers  the  man  of  her  choice  the  throne  ; 
but  no,  she  must  take  the  veil.  She  enters  the  "  White 
Sparrow  Nunnery,"  and  the  nuns  put  her  to  the  most 
menial  offices  ;  the  dragon  opens  a  well  for  the  young  maid- 
servant, and  the  wild  beasts  bring  her  wood.  The  king 
sends  his  troops  to  burn  the  nunnery, — Kwanyin  prays,  rain 
falls,  and  extinguishes  the  conflagration.  She  is  brought 
to  the  palace  in  chains,  and  the  alternative  of  marriage  or 
death  is  placed  before  her.  In  the  room  above  where  the 
court  of  the  inquisition  was  held,  there  were  music,  danc- 
ing, and  feasting,  sounds  and  sights  to  allure  a  young  girl ; 
the  queen  also  urged  her  to  leave  the  convent  and  accede 
to  the  royal  father's  wish.  Kwanyin  declared  she  would 
rather  die  than  marry,  so  the  fairy  princess  was  strangled, 
and  a  tiger  took  her  body  into  the  forest.  She  descended 
into  hell,  and  hell  became  a  Paradise  with  gardens  of 
lilies.  King  Yama  was  terrified  when  he  saw  the  prison  of 
the  lost  becoming  an  enchanting  garden,  and  begged  her 
to  leave,  in  order  that  the  good  and  evil  might  have 
their  distinctive  rewards.  One  of  the  genii  gave  her  ^'  the 
peach  of  immortality."  On  her  return  to  the  terrestrial 
regions  she  heard  that  her  father  was  sick,  and  sent  him 


The  Heart  of  BttddJiism. 


295 


word  that  if  he  would  despatch   a  messenger   to    "The 
Fragrant  Mountain  "  an  eye  and  a  hand  would  be  given 


GiviDg-Sons  Kwanyin. 

him  for   medicine;    this  eye  and   hand  were   Kwanyin's 
own,  and  produced  instant  recovery. 

The    Magnet    of   the    Church.— In    old    Buddhism 
Shakyamuni  was  the  chief  god,   and    in   many   temples 


296         J  he  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

he  nominally  occupies  the  seat  of  honour,  but  now  he 
is  completely  eclipsed  by  the  goddess  of  mercy,  as  in 
Pootoo,  where  Buddha,  six  feet  high,  sits  in  the  rear,  and 
a  gigantic  gilt  image  of  Kwanyin  stands  in  front.  The 
men  love  her,  the  children  adore  her,  and  the  women 
chant  her  prayers.  Whatever  the  temple  may  be, 
there  is  nearly  always  a  chapel  for  Kwanyin  within 
its  sacred  precincts ;  she  lives  in  many  homes,  and  in 
many,  many  hearts  she  sits  enshrined.  She  is  the 
patron  goddess  of  mothers,  and  when  we  remember  the 
value  of  a  son,  we  can  appreciate  the  heartiness  of  the 
worship.  She  protects  in  sorrow,  and  so  millions  of  times 
the  prayer  is  offered,  "  G-reat  mercy,  great  pity,  save 
from  sorrow,  save  from  suffering,"  or,  as  it  is  in  the 
books,  "  Grreat  mercy,  great  pity,  save  from  misery,  save 
from  evil,  broad,  great,  efficacious,  responsive  Kwanyin 
Buddha."  She  saves  the  tempest-tossed  sailor,  so  has 
eclipsed  the  Empress  of  Heaven,  who,  as  the  female 
Neptune,  is  the  patroness  of  seamen ;  in  drought  the 
mandarins  worship  the  Dragon  and  the  Pearly  Emperor, 
but  if  they  fail,  the  bronze  goddess  of  mercy  from  the 
hills  brings  rain.  Other  gods  are  feared,  she  is  loved  ; 
others  have  black,  scornful  faces,  her  countenance  is 
radiant  as  gold,  and  gentle  as  the  moon-beam ;  she  draws 
near  to  the  people  and  the  people  draw  near  to  her.  Her 
throne  is  upon  the  Isle  of  Pootoo,  to  which  she  came 
floating  upon  a  water-lily.  She  is  the  model  of  Chinese 
beauty,  and  to  say  a  lady  or  a  little  girl  is  a  "  Kwanyin  " 
is  the  highest  compliment  that  can  be  paid  to  grace  and 
loveliness.  She  is  fortunate  in  having  three  birthdays, 
the  nineteenth  of  the  second,  sixth,  and    ninth  moons. 


The  Heart  of  Buddhism. 


297 


There  are  many  metamorphoses  of  Kwanyin ;  of  these 
the  four  pictures  given  represent  ''  The  Thousand-handed 
Kwanyin,"  "  The  Fish-basket  Kwanyin,"  *'  The  Giving- 
sons  Kwanyin,"  and  "  The  White-robed  Kwanyin." 

The  Buddhist  Saviour — She  is  called  Kwanyin 
because  at  any  cry  of  misery  she  "  hears  the  voice  and 
removes  the  sorrow."  Her  ap- 
pellation is  ^'  Taking-away-fear 
Buddha."  If  in  the  midst  of 
the  fire  the  name  of  Kwanyin 
is  called,  the  fire  cannot  burn  ; 
if  tossed  by  mountain  billows, 
call  her  name  and  shallow  waters 
will  be  reached.  If  merchants 
go  across  the  sea  seeking  gold, 
silver,  pearls,  and  precious  stones, 
if  a  storm  comes  up  and  threatens 
to  carry  the  crew  to  the  evil- 
devil's  kingdom,  if  one  on  board 
calls  the  name  of  Kwanyin  the 
ship  will  be  saved.  If  one  goes 
into  a  conflict  and  calls  on  the 
name  of  Kwanyin  the  sword  and 
spear  of  the  enemy  fall  harmless. 
If  the  three-thousand  great  thou- 
sand kingdoms  are  visited  by  demons,  call  on  her  name, 
and  these  demons  cannot  with  an  evil  eye  look  on  a  man. 
If,  within,  you  have  evil  thoughts,  only  call  on  Kwanyin, 
and  your  heart  will  be  purified.  Anger  and  wrath  may 
be  dispelled  by  calling  on  the  name  of  Kwanyin.  A 
lunatic  who  prays  to  Kwanyin  will  become  sane.     Kwan- 


Fish-Basket  Kwanyin. 


298         1  he  Dragon,  hnage,  and  De'fnon. 

yin  gives  sons  to, mothers,  and  if  the  mother  asks  for  a 
daughter  she  will  be  a  beauty.  Two  men — one  chanting 
the  names  of  the  6,200,000  Buddhas,  in  number  like  the 
sands  of  the  Granges,  and  the  other  simply  calling  on 
Kwanyin — have  equal  merit.  Kwanyin  may  take  the 
form  of  a  Buddha,  a  prince,  a  priest,  a  nun,  a  scholar, 
any  form  or  shape,  go  to  any  kingdom,  and  preach 
the  law  throughout  the  earth. 

Amita  and  the  Western  Heaven — The  most  strik- 
ing difference  between  northern  and  southern  Buddhism 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Western  Heaven  and  of  Amita 
(Amitahba).  It  is  an  innovation  of  later  centuries,  pro- 
bably a  thousand  years  after  Buddha,  and  it  is  certain  that 
this  tenet  does  not  come  from  India,  as  this  god  is  unknown 
in  that  country  and  Ceylon.  The  most  plausible  theory 
is  that  it  was  borrowed  from  the  Nestorians,  whom  the 
Buddhists  likely  met  in  Central  Asia.  In  Japan  Buddhism 
is  concentrated  in  the  worship  of  Amita.  In  China  the 
fronts  of  the  temples  have  the  inscription  in  great  cha- 
racters, Na-mo  o-TYie-to-fuh  (Honour  to  Amita  Buddha). 
There  is  little  homage  given  by  the  populace  to  Shakyamuni 
compared  with  what  is  rendered  to  this  deity,  and  whole 
prayer-books  and  sutras  have  been  manufactured  and 
falsely  ascribed  to  the  head  of  the  church  as  if  he  were 
their  author.  Amita,  Kwanyin,  and  Mahasthama  (called 
Tashuchi,  one  of  Amita's  court)  form  a  loving  triad,  and 
their  images  are  seen  together  in  the  temples  of  Paradise. 
Amita  means  "  boundless  light,"  so  called  because  "  his 
brightness  is  boundless,  and  he  can  illumine  all  king- 
doms. His  life,  boundless  and  shoreless,  extends  through 
many  kalpas."     Amita  is  also  called  the  "  boundless-age 


The  Heart  of  Buddhism. 


299 


Buddha,"  but  his  common  designation  is  "  the  guiding 
Buddha/'  the  one  who  directs  his  followers  to  a  Paradise 
in  the  great  West.- 

AMITA. 

"  See,  streaming  forth  radiance  for  thousands  of  miles, 
Ever  sits  the  compassionate  Buddha  and  smiles, 
Giving  joy  to  victims  of  sorrow  and  strife. 
Who  are  saved  by  his  law  from  the  evils  of  life. 
All  his  features  of  beauty  no  words  can  express, 
For  the  sands  of  the  Ganges  in  number  are  less  ; 


Amita,  Kwanyiu,  and  Tashuchi. 

The  flowers  of  the  lotus  encircle  his  seat, 

As  if  of  themselves  they  spring  up  round  his  feet. 

Whoever  would  enter  the  home  of  the  blest, 

In  his  innermost  thoughts  should  incessantly  rest 

On  that  beautiful  form  like  the  moon  on  high, 

When  she  marches  full-orbed  through  an  unclouded  sky, 

By  that  halo  of  light  that  encircles  his  head, 

On  all  living  beings  a  radiance  is  shed  ; 

The  sun  at  noon -day  is  less  glorious  than  he. 

His  compassion  resembles  a  bottomless  sea. 

His  golden  arms  are  outstretched  to  relieve 

The  sufferers  that  weep  and  the  hearts  that  do  grieve  ; 


300        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

His  mercy  is  such  as  none  else  can  display, 
And  long  years  of  gratitude  cannot  repay." 

The  Magic  Name — In  every  temple  the  sound  you 
hear  is  o-'ine-to-fiih ;  when  you  speak  to  a  priest,  he 
utters,  o-me-to-fiih ;  the  response  in  prayer  is  o-me-to- 
fiih ;  as  the  monk  beats  on  his  fish-head  the  name  is 
called,  o-me-to-fuh ;  as  he  counts  his  beads  it  is  o-rae- 
to-fuh ;  as  the  prayers  are  read,  the  women  join  in 
o-me-to-fuh ;  as  a  company  of  priests  assemble  at  vespers, 
it  is  o-viie-to-fvuh ;  calling  the  name,  they  dot  the  circles 
on  the  papers ;  for  every  10,000  times  there  is  one  degree 
of  merit  obtained.  While  o-me-to-fuh  is  pronounced,  the 
mind  must  be  fixed  on  Amita,  and  the  thoughts  con- 
centrated on  him  like  a  thread  running  through  beads 
or  like  an  arrow  flying  to  its  mark.  The  effort  is  to 
see  how  many  times  o-me-to-fuh  can  be  called  in  one 
breath,  and  you  sometimes  hear  the  priests  calling  the 
name  at  railway  speed.  Not  long  since  I  asked  a  priest, 
"  How  often  do  you  say  o-me-to-fuh  a  day  ? "  and  he 
answered,  "  Oh,  about  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  times." 
This  is  the  "  vain  repetition  "  of  the  Buddhist ;  almost 
the  only  prayer  the  heathen  knows  is  o-me-to-fuh. 

The  Paradise  of  the  West — The  doctrine  of  the 
Western  Heaven  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  teachings 
of  Buddha  about  Nirvana,  and  proves  that  the  heart  could 
not  deal  with  such  abstractions,  and  that  men  must  have 
happiness  set  before  them  in  a  more  real,  substantial 
form.  This  Paradise  of  Amita  is  not  situated  within 
the  pale  of  this  solar  system.  The  sacred  book  says 
(translated):— Ten  million  miles  to  the  West  there  is 
an  earth  called  Paradise,  the   home  of  Amita.     Why  is 


The  Heart  of  Buddhism.  30 ! 


it  called  Paradise  ?     Answer  :   Because  all  the  creatures 
born   there  have  no    sorrow.     There  are    seven  rows  of 


Western  Paradise. 


balustrades,  seven  rows  of  precious  trees  around,  and 
seven  precious  lakes  with  golden  sands.  The  streets  are 
a  compound  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and   crystal.     There 


302         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

are  towers  and  pavilions  adorned  with  gold,  silver,  pearls, 
crystal,  and  agate.  In  the  lakes  are  lilies  the  size  of 
wheels,  azure,  yellow,  red,  and  white. 

Six  hours  of  the  day  and  six  hours  of  the  night  there 
is  a  rain  of  flowers.  The  inhabitants  gather  them  in 
their  robes  in  the  morning,  take  them  to  other  lands  to 
the  ten  billion  other  Buddhas,  and  return,  being  absent 
about  as  long  as  it  takes  to  eat  rice. 

The  birds  of  Paradise,  variegated  in  plumage,  are 
famous ;  white  cranes,  peacocks,  and  parrots  chant  the 
Buddhist  prayers.     These  birds  have  no  original  sin. 

In  that  happy  land  the  three  evils  are  unknown, — not 
even  the  names  of  the  three  evils  are  known.  Amita, 
wishing  the  "  law-sound "  (our  word  gospel  is  "  happy- 
sound  ")  to  be  constantly  chanted,  expelled  these  evils. 

If  a  gentle  zephyr  blows  amid  the  trees,  there  are 
delicate  surprising  sounds  like  to  1 00,000  musical  instru- 
ments ;  the  listener  must  necessarily  have  a  heart  to 
chant  of  Buddha,  the  Law,  and  the  Church. 

THE  PUBE  LAND. 

*'  The  pure  land  of  the  West,  say,  what  language  can  tell 
Its  beauty  and  majesty  ?     There  ever  dwell 
The  men  of  this  world,  and  the  Devas  of  heaven, 
And  to  each  has  the  same  wreath  of  glory  been  given. 
The  secrets  of  wisdom  unveiled  they  behold, 
And  the  soil  that  they  tread  on  is  bright  yellow  gold  ; 
In  that  land  of  true  pleasure  the  flowers  never  fade, 
Each  terraced  ascent  is  of  diamond  and  jade. 
The  law  of  great  Buddha  sung  by  each  bird. 
From  thicket  and  grove  in  sweet  music  is  heard  ; 
The  unwithering  Upata,  fairest  of  flowers. 
Sheds  fragrance  around  in  those  thrice-lovely  bowers. 


The  Hea7't  of  Bidddhism.  303 


There,  each  from  the  world  that  he  governs,  are  found, 

Assembled  in  conference  long  and  profound, 

The  ten  supreme  Buddhas,  who  cease  not  to  tell 

The  praise  of  the  land  where  the  genii  dwell  : 

For  there  is  no  region  so  happy  and  blest 

As  the  heaven  of  Amita  far  in  the  West. 

On  the  moment  of  entering  that  peaceful  scene, 

The  common  material  body  of  men 

Is  exchanged  for  a  body  ethereal  and  bright, 

That  is  seen  from  afar  to  be  glowing  with  light. 

Happy  they  who  to  that  joyful  region  have  gone, 

In  numberless  kalpas  their  time  flows  on  ; 

Around  are  green  woods,  and  above  them  clear  skies, 

The  sun  never  scorches,  cold  winds  never  rise, 

And  summer  and  winter  are  both  unknown 

In  the  land  of  the  Law  and  the  Diamond  Throne. 

All  errors  corrected,  all  mysteries  made  clear, 

Their  rest  is  unbroken  by  care  or  by  fear  ; 

And  the  truth  that  before  lay  in  darkness  concealed, 

Like  a  gem  without  fracture  or  flaw  is  revealed."' 


Born  of  a  Lily. — The  beautiful  lotus  is  the  flower 
of  Paradise.  It  is  never  said,  "  go  to  heaven,"  but  to 
be  '•  born  in  heaven."  Those  who  believe  must  record  a 
vow  to  be  born  in  the  "  pure  land,"  at  which  time  a  lotus 
springs  up  in  a  pond,  and  if  he  is  diligent  in  calling  the 
name  of  Amita  (o-oiie-to-fuh)  the  flower  will  flourish,  and 
when  he  dies  a  man  will  be  born  out  of  the  flower.  The 
exhortation  is  given  in  the  sutra :  At  the  approach  of 
death,  do  not  fear  it ;  always  think  this  body  has  many 
sorrows ;  it  is  made  filthy  by  sin,  wound  round  and 
round;  if  this  dirty  body  can  be  thrown  off  and  you 
be  born  in  a  pure  land,  is  it  not  a  happy  event  ?  It  is 
like  throwing  off  old  clothes  and  putting  on  a  new  suit. 
If  any  one  will  call  the  name  of  Amita  for  seven  days 


304        TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

with  fixed  heart,  at  death  Amita  with  his  holy  throng 
will  appear  before  him ;  his  heart  will  not  be  turned 
upside  down,  but  he  will  be  born  in  Paradise.  There 
are  nine  ranks  among  the  inhabitants  of  water-lily 
purity.     The  candidate  for  the  lily-birth  must  imagine 


Titsang. 

that  he  is  sitting  on  a  lotus-throne,  tailor-fashion,  that 
he  sees  Buddha  in  his  kingdom  and  hears  him  preach; 
he  must  also  have  the  bright  golden  image  of  Amita 
just  before  his  eyes.  This  is  the  Buddhistic  account 
of  the  "  pure  land." 


The  Heart  of  Biiddhism.  305 


The  god  of  Hades.— Above  the  ten  kings  of  hell 
is  Titsang^  the  god  of  Hades.  The  important  position 
he  occupies  in  the  pantheon  may  be  appreciated  from 
the  fact  that  he  has  a  shrine  in  almost  every  temj^le, 
for  financially  they  cannot  afford  to  do  without  such  a 
valuable  deity.  His  merit  was  so  great  that  he  would 
have  become  a  Buddha,  had  he  not  made  a  vow  to 
rescue  all  orphan  spirits  and  devils,  so  he  is  still  in 
the  regions  below  engaged  in  his  arduous  task.  His 
worship  day  is  the  thirtieth  of  the  seventh  moon, 
when  his  temples  are  thronged.  He  sleeps  359  days, 
and  only  awakes  on  his  birthday,  and  if  there  are  only 
twenty-nine  days  in  that  month  he  quietly  turns  over 
for  another  year's  nap.  The  bitter  sarcasm  on  Carmel's 
top,  "  Perad venture  he  sleepeth  and  must  be  awakened," 
is  here  too  terribly  literal.  As  the  god  dwells  in  the 
regions  below,  on  this  fearful  night  the  candles  in 
front  of  every  door  are  placed  on  the  curb  stones ;  it  is 
called,   "  Burning  the  dog-excrement  incense." 

The  Doctrine  of  Hell — The  Chinese  speak  of  the 
eighteen  tiers  of  hells,  each  subdivided  into  numberless 
caverns  and  pits,  located  beneath  the  base  of  JNIount 
Sumeru,  and  called  the  "  earth-prison."  They  have  the 
proverb,  "  The  evil  has  the  evil  reward ; "  they  have 
consciences  to  warn  them  of  coming  judgment ;  and 
the  innate  sense  of  justice  to  tell  them  that  the 
wickedness  of  the  wicked  ends  not  at  death.  The 
sacred  books  speak  of  the  "  long  night "  and  of  the 
"  black  books,"  i.e.,  with  lists  of  sins.  The  doctrine 
of  retribution  as  now  possessed  by  the  Chinese  aids  in 
teaching  the  Scripture  doctrine.     Revelation  gives  clear- 

20 


3o6         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  De^non. 

ness  to  the  subject,  but  it  adds  little  to  the  awful  nature 
of  future  punishment.  It  only  remained  for  Him  who 
"  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  "  to  speak  of  its 
duration,  making  it  to  last  as  long  as  the  blessedness  of 
the  holy.  "And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
(aionian)  punishment ;  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal 
(aionian)." 

The  City  of  Fungtu — In  the  western  province  of 
Szechuen  there  is  a  city  called  Fungtu,  and  in  the 
city  temple  there  is  said  to  be  an  underground  passage 
which  connects  with  the  city  of  Fungtu  in  the  other 
world.  The  temple  is  said  to  be  closed,  but  during 
the  Ming  dynasty  an  emperor  opened  the  doors  and 
descended  into  the  cavern.  Led  by  the  attendant  of 
the  god  of  war,  he  passed  through  the  dark  passage 
and  came  to  a  city  full  of  light,  broad  streets,  and 
storied  houses ;  the  different  departments  were  pre- 
sided over  by  the  ten  kings,  but  the  visitor  was  not 
allowed  to  go  farther  than  the  fifth  hall  of  justice.  It  is 
said  by  the  neighbours  that  at  night  they  can  hear  the 
cries  of  the  criminals  as  they  are  put  to  torture  in  the 
regions  below.  The  large  sutra  which  gives  an  account 
of  this  city  is  evidently  an  Indo-Chinese  production  ;  an 
attempt  to  combine  the  Chinese  doctrine  of  the  ra7?r/and 
Yin  with  the  Indian  tenets  of  the  "  earth-prison." 

The  Ten  Kings  of  Hell — King  Yama,  the  ruler  of 
the  dead,  the  guardian  of  the  prison  of  the  lost,  has 
ten  different  personifications,  all  spoken  of  in  Chinese 
as  Yen  Lo  Wang ;  the  ten  to  rule  over  the  ten  depart- 
ments of  Tartarus.  The  accounts  of  the  "earth-prison" 
are  chiefly  made   known  by  the  "Jade  Eecord,"  which 


The  Heart  of  Buddhism.  307 


is  often  printed  by  benevolent  persons  and  gratuitously 
distributed.  The  reader  asks,  ''  Why  these  two  assistants 
with  the  cow's  head  and  horse's  face  ?  "  It  is  to  prevent 
new  arrivals  from  recognising  them,  and  so  to  check  all 
attempts  at  bribery. 

The  fifth  king  with  an  African  face  was  a  mandarin 
of  the  Sung  dynasty,  a.d.  1200,  by  the  name  of  Pao 
Lungtu,  celebrated  for  his  incorruptible  integrity.  He 
was  first  placed  over  Ward  No.  1,  but  as  he  had  a  '•  resur- 


King  Yama,  Cow's  Head  and  Horse's  Face  Assistants. 

rection  rod "  by  which  he  could  restore  men  to  life,  it 
was  feared  that  many  would  return  to  earth  without 
going  before  the  ten  courts,  so  Shangte  moved  him  to 
Ward  No.  5,  because  the  criminals  had  to  remain  seven 
days  in  each  department,  and  after  five  weeks  the  body 
would  be  corrupt,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  bring  it 
to  life  again.  King  Yama  X.  rules  over  the  wheel  of 
transmigration. 

White  and  Black  Devils These  are  the  ^Marshals 

of  Hades,  who  are  despatched  to  arrest  the   dying,  seize 


3o8         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

their   souls,  and  hurry  them  into   the  presence   of  the 
judge. 


White  and  Black  Devils. 

The  Vision  of  Hell — A  man  at  the  time  of  death 
has  all  the  sins  of  his  life  to  pass  as  a  panorama  before 


Looking  Homeward. 

his  eyes  ;  this  is  called  by  Buddhists  "  The  vision  of  hell." 


TJie  Heart  of  BuddJiism. 


309 


Looking  Homeward— When  the  soul  arrives  at  tlie 
fifth  ward  it  is  permitted  to  go  upon  a  portico,  and  take 
a  longing  glance  at  the  loved  ones  at  home.  The 
friends  at  the  old  homestead  during  the  fifth  week  after 
the  decease  spread  a  feast  before  dawn,  lighting  a 
lantern  in  the  court,  the  filial  son  calling,  and  a  friend 
beside  the  coffin  responding,  for  if  they  do  not  invite 
the  departed  he  will  not  go  upon  the  observatory. 


The  Mirror.— The  first  act  in  Hades  is  for  the  man 
to  be  taken  to  the  steel-yard,  a  hook  fastened  in  his 
back,  and  his  sins  weighed ;  if  his  deeds  of  merit  out- 
weigh his  sins,  he  is  forthwith  carried  to  the  tenth 
department,  to  return  to  earth.  If  it  happens  the 
other  way,  he  is  taken  before  a  mirror,  and  there  he 
beholds  what  he  is  to  be  in  the  next  life  for  the  sins 
of  the  past — a  cow,  a  dog,  an  ass,  or  a  reptile.  The 
proverb  says,  "  Before  the  mirror  a  good  man  does  not 
come."     Sometimes  in  the  mirror  it  is  a   headless    cow 


The  Mill. 


The  Mortar. 


The  Chopping-knife. 


Palling  out  the  Tongue. 


Sawn  Asunder. 


Lake  of  Blood. 


The  Heart  of  Buddhism.  3 1 1 


and  a  man  that  you  see.  On  inquiring  the  meaning,  one 
is  told  that  the  beef  is  indicting  the  butcher  before 
the  judge  for  cow-slaughter. 

The  Undivided  Hell.— This  is  an  iron  city  18,000 
miles  in  circumference,  and  the  walls  1,000  miles  high, 
of  solid  iron  ;  fire  from  above  descends,  and  fire  from 
below  ascends ;  iron  dogs  spit  fire,  iron  snakes  coil 
around  the  neck,  and  iron  eagles  pluck  out  the  eyes. 
There  are  many  evil  devils,  their  teeth  like  spears,  their 
arms    like    pitchforks,    and    their    eyes    like    lightning. 


Bridge  of  Snakes. 

There  is  an  iron  bed  10,000  miles  long,  and  the  criminal 
is  stretched  its  whole  length. 

The  Earth-Prison. — The  punishments  recorded  in 
the  "  Jade  Eecord "  and  other  works  on  future  torment 
give  frightful  pictures  of  the  tortures  of  bad  men  ;  in 
many  Buddhist  temples  these  are  represented  by  small 
figures,  and  in  others  by  life-size  images.  Men  are 
ground  to  powder,  the  dust  becoming  ants,  fleas,  and 
lice ;  pestled  in  a  mortar,  and  mashed  to  jelly  in  iron 
mortars ;  chopped  in  slices  with  a  knife  and  hacked  to 
pieces  with   hatchets;    the   tongue   of  deceit  and   lying 


312         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

pulled  out ;  sawn  asunder ;  the  bones  and  flesh  crushed 
by  falling  mountains ;  women  cast  into  a  lake  of  blood 
(see  Chapter  XVI.) ;  crossing  the  narrow  bridge  and 
falling   among    fiery    serpents ;    the    caldron    of  oil    for 


Caldron  of  Oil. 


those  who  waste  rice ;  drunkards  with  the  cangue 
and  standing  on  the  hands ;  quack  doctors  with  hands 
and   feet  tied,  and  a  large  stone   on  the  back,  the  fierce 


Hill  of  Knives. 


judge  administering  hot  drinks  ;  a  man  going  into  the 
mill  head  foremost,  with  the  legs  sticking  out  and  a  dog 
coming  out  below  in  the  transmigration;  a  headless 
ghost  pulling  his  murderer  to  judgment ;  disembowelled  ; 


The  Heart  of  BuddJiisni. 


tossed  on  a  hill  of  knives  ;  cast  on  a  lake  of  ice ;  chained 
to  a  red-hot  cylinder;  iron  dungeon,  darkness  within  and 
fire  without  ;  lashed  with  burning  iron  wires ;  when 
thirsty,  drinking  molten  iron  ;  eating  red-hot  iron  balls  : 
besides,  there  is  the  freezing  hell,  the  burning  hell,  and 
the  hell  of  bubbling  filth. 

Men  and  women,  foreigners  and  natives,  old  and  young, 
dragons  and  demons,  gods  and  angels,  are  all  liable  to  go 
to  the  "  earth-prison  ''  for  their  sins. 

''  The  Buddhist    hells  combine  all  that  is  horrible  to 


Village  of  "Wild  Dogs. 


Burning  Cylinder. 


each  of  the  senses.  Every  form  of  torment,  mental  and 
physical,  that  can  befall  the  unhappy  violators  of  a  good 
conscience  and  of  the  Buddhist  law,  are  found  there. 
The  extremes  of  cold  i<.nd  heat,  cutting,  flaying,  biting, 
insulting,  and  tantalizing  have  to  be  endured  by  such 
persons  according  to  their  deserts.  Demons  of  the  most 
monstrous  shapes  and  most  cruel  dispositions  terrify 
them  in  every  possible  way.  All  that  fire  and  water, 
knives  and  clubs,  can  by  ingenuity  be  made  to  do  in 
tormenting,  is  there  done." 


314         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


Miss  Mang's  Soup. — Why  do  not  men  remember 
the  acts  of  a  previous  existence  ?  Buddhism  has  its 
answer.  Before  the  metempsychosis,  the  party  is  taken 
to  Miss  Mang's  soup  kitchen,  and  receives  a  potion  which 
makes  him  forget  all  previous  events.  Miss  Mang  was 
a  maiden  lady  of  fourscore  years  ;  in  her  youth  she  was 
an  earnest  student  of  Buddhism   and   an    exhorter ;   in 


Miss  Mang's  Pavilion. 

her  old  age  she  was  appointed  a  goddess  in  Tartarus, 
and  compounds  this  "  forgetful "  potion  of  many  different 
medicines.  Scholars  arriving  at  Hades  who  can  repeat 
the  Buddhist  chants  are  beyond  the  power  of  King 
Yama,  so  they  are  transferred  to  Miss  Mang's  depart- 
ment, return  to  earth,  die  just  before  or  immediately 
after  birth,  and  then  they  can  be  brought  successively 
before  the  ten  kings  of  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   GODS   OF   BUDDHISM. 

Janteng  Buddha.  —  Janteng,  or  the  ''Light  lamp" 
Buddha,  is  a  fictitious  personage  who  was  the  teacher 
of  Shakyamuni  in  a  previous  existence,  and  foretold 
that  in  a  subsequent  kalpa  he  would  become  a 
Buddha.  "  The  time  when  this  happened  was  too  long 
ago  to  be  expressed  by  common  Chinese  numerals." 
As  the  instructor  of  Shakyamuni  in  a  former  life, 
he  occupies  with  him  "  the  highest  rank  in  wisdom 
and  power."  The  eighth  moon,  twenty-second  day,  is  his 
birthday. 

The  Dragons — ''  The  Dragons  of  the  four  seas " 
were  four  brothers  by  the  name  of  Yao,  who  govern  the 
North,  South,  East,  and  West  seas.  "  The  fabulous 
dragon  of  China  is  a  monster  with  scales  like  a  crocodile 
and  having  five-clawed  feet.  He  has  no  wings,  and 
when  he  rises  in  the  air,  it  is  by  a  power  he  is  supposed 
to  possess  of  transforming  himself  at  pleasure.  He  can 
make  himself  large  or  little,  and  rise  or  fall,  just  as  he 
chooses.  The  dragon,  which  is  a  flying  saurian,  seems 
to  be  an  original  Chinese  creation."  He  occupies  a 
prominent  place  in  Chinese  mythology  ;  he  sends  rain 
and   floods,  and  is  the   ruler  of  the   clouds. 


3i6         The  Dragon  y  I  mage  ^  and  Demon. 

"  Of  the  scaly  reptiles  the  dragon  is  the  chief,"  says 
a  native  author  ;  "  it  wields  the  power  of  transformation 
and  the  gift  of  rendering  itself  visible  or  invisible  at 
pleasure.  In  the  spring  it  ascends  to  the  skies,  and  in 
the  autumn  it  buries  itself  in  the  watery  depth."  "  There 
is  the  celestial  dragon,  which  guards  the  mansions  of  the 


The  Dragon. 


gods  and  supports  them  so  that  they  do  not  fall ;  the 
divine  dragon,  which  causes  the  winds  to  blow  and  pro- 
duces rain  for  the  benefit  of  mankind;  the  earth  dragon, 
which  marks  out  the  courses  of  rivers  and  streams  ;  and 
the  dragon  of  the  hidden  treasures,  which  watches  over 
the  wealth  concealed  from  mortals." 


The  Gods  of  BuddJiisin. 


17 


The  Buddhists  count  their  dragons  in  number  e(iual  to 
the  fish  of  the  great  deep,  which  defies  arithmetical  com- 
putation, and  can  only  be  expressed  by  their  sacred 
numerals.  The  people  have  a  more  certain  faith  in  them 
than  in  most  of  their  divinities,  because  they  see  them 
so  often  ;  every  cloud  with  a  curious  configuration  or 
serpentine  tail  is  the  dragon  :  "  We  see  him,"  say  they ; 
the    scattering   of  the    cloud   is   his  disappearance.     He 


King  Lee,  holding  a  Pagoda. 

rules  the  hills,  is  connected  with  fiingshuy,  dwells  around 
the  graves,  is  associated  with  the  Confucian  worship,  is 
the  Neptune  of  the  sea,  and  appears  on  the  dry  land. 
The  dragon  to  China  is  what  the  lion  and  the  unicorn  are 
to  England,  and  the  eagle  to  America.  The  dragon  is  the 
emblem  on  the  national  flag,  it  is  the  crest  on  Imperial 
monuments,  the  design  on  the  Emperor's  robes,  and  the 
throne  of  the  empire  is  the  dragon-throne. 


3r8         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


Holding-Pagoda  King  Lee — He  was  a  general  of 
the  Shang  dynasty.  His  youngest  son,  Nacha,  went 
bathing  and  drowned  the  dragon's  son;  the  dragon  sought 
revenge  on  the  father,  who  called  his  son  to  account  for 
the  murder.  Nacha  gave  his  flesh  to  his  father  and  his 
bones  to  his  mother,  and  his  soul  went  to  the  Great 
Extreme.  The  Grreat  Extreme  took  a  lily  and  made  him 
a  body ;  the  mother  built  a  temple  in  his  honour,  which 
his  father  ordered  to  be  pulled  down,  whereupon  the  two 
got  into  a  fight,  and  Jante«g  Buddha  took  a  gold  pagoda 
and  cooped  Nacha ;  but  as  he  feared  his  submission  was 
only  temporary  he  gave  the  pagoda  to  his  father,  who ' 
now,  as  Prime  Minister  of  Heaven,  holds  the  pagoda 
in  his  hand  and  is  thus  seen  in  the  temples. 

The  Mother  of  Buddha. — She  has  thirty-four  arms 
and  eighteen  heads ;  if  her  chant  is  repeated  900,000 
times,  the  four  burdens  will  be  taken  away  and  the  ten 
evils  avoided.  Her  names  are  Chente  P'usa  and 
Soseihte. 

Master  of  the  Lily  Lake — During  the  Sung 
dynasty  there  was  a  priest  collecting  for  a  temple,  when, 
meeting  with  a  tiger,  the  pious  animal  offered  to  be  a 
partner  in  his  firm.  Messrs.  Priest  and  Tiger  went  in 
company  for  several  years,  and  the  former  obtained  very 
liberal  subscriptions  when  the  shopmen  saw  the  latter 
standing  guard  at  the  door.  After  the  temple  was  built, 
the  tiger  said  to  the  priest,  ''  You  sit  here  and  chant  and 
I  will  see  you  have  rice,"  so  for  a  long  time  he  collected 
food  for  the  friar,  and  at  his  death  the  blood-thirsty 
denizen  of  the  jungle  became  lord  of  the  lilies. 

Fix-Light  Buddha. —  As  a  priest  he  dwelt  on  amoun- 


7 he  Gods  of  Bvddhism.  319 

tain-top  for  five  hundred  years.  After  he  had  been  there 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  light  in  his  hair  was 
waving  and  not  fixed,  but  by  the  end  of  the  next  century 
it  was  as  bright  as  gold  and  remained  with  a  steady 
effulgence.     Shakya  called  him  "  Fix-Light  Buddha." 

Pouhien  P'usa — He  is  seen  in  the  group  with  Shakya 
and  Wenshu.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  seeing  that  the 
world  was  false,  he  became  a  hermit  and  afterwards  a 
Bodhisattwa.     He  is  a  fictitious  character. 

The  Sombre  Maiden — Hiian  Nii.  "The  Sombre 
Maiden  was,  according  to  ancient  tradition,  the  daughter 
of  Heaven,  and  was  sent  to  the  aid  of  Hwangte.  Post- 
Buddhist  legends  appear  to  have  identified  this  mythical 
being  with  Marichi  Deva,"  the  personification  of  light, 
offspring  of  Brahma. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


GODS   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 


God  of  Wealth. 


it*;Hlf*fi'>^fWi4»jtv?  ^i*^ 


List  of  Gods. 


God  of  Wealth. — Yuen-tan  is  the  true  god  of  riches, 
though  he  now  occupies  a  secondary  place,  and  the 
god  next  mentioned  has  supplanted  him.  He  lived  in 
the  eventful  days  of  Kiang  T'aikung,  and  some  of  his 
exploits  were  riding  a  black  tiger  and  hurling  a  pearl 
which  would  burst  like  a  bomb-shell.  He  was  overcome 
by  witchcraft :  a  straw  man  was  made  to  represent  him, 
and  its  eyes  and  heart  were  pierced  with  darts ;  after 
death  he  was  appointed  the  god  of  wealth. 


Gods  of  the  People. 


?'s2\ 


God  of  Riches. — The  picture  represents  him  as  sitting 
in  his  shrine  or  Uttle  chapel,  which  is  placed  on  a  table 
in  nearly  every  store  and  in  many  homes.  There  were 
five  brothers,  who  were  ''  G lobe-Trotters,"  and  it  is  gene- 
rally said  that  Lotow  is  in  a  foreign  land.  His  birthday 
is  the  first  moon,  fifth  day,  when  the  merchants  spread  a 
feast  in  his  honour,  or,  as  they  say,  "  drink  wine  to  the  god 
of  riches."     The  post-offices  and  shops  are    ever  opened 


God  of  Eiches. 

till  after  this  sacrificial  banquet  is  given  to  him.  By  his 
side  are  two  ministers,  called  "  Invite  Riches"  and  "  Gain 
JNIarket,"  who  are  considered  divinities  of  no  mean  rank. 
P^or  scrolls  they  have  as  inscriptions,  ''  Invite  Riches  says. 
Where  is  the  lucky  place  ?  "  "  Gain  Market  replies.  Here 
it  is  before  your  face."  The  god  of  riches  is  regularly 
and  devoutly  worshipped  by  burning  incense  before  the 
shrine,  lighting  candles   in  front  of  the   sign-board,  and 

21 


322         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


placing  a  cup  of  wine  at  the  foot  of  the  image.  He  is 
one  of  the  chief  among  the  gods,  and  it  is  in  his  worship 
that  the  streams  of  covetousness  and  idolatry  flow  into 
the  Great  Lake  of  worldly-mindedness. 


Heavenly  MaDdarin. 

The  Heavenly  Mandarin._This  picture  bangs  in 
numbers  of  bouses.  The  Heavenly  Mandarin  in  appear- 
ance ,s  very  handsome,  and  on  his  head  is  the  nearest 


Gods  of  the  People. 


323 


approach  to  a   crown   with    which    the    Chinese    are  ac- 
quainted. 

Kitchen-god. — About  sixty  million  pictures  of  this 
god  are  regularly  worshipped  twice  a  month.  His  temple 
is  a  little  niche  in  the  brick  cooking-range ;  his  palace  is 
often  filled  with  smoke,  and  his  majesty  sells  for  one  half- 


cent.  "Every  empire  has  an  emperor,  and  every  family 
has  a  ruler,"  is  the  oft-quoted  pro\  erb  ;  the  ruler  of  the 
family  being  the  kitchen-god.  His  duties  are  two-fold  ; 
first,  he  knows  intimately  the  faults  of  the  family  and  takes 
account  of  their  sins  ;  second,  he  stands  as  a  mediator 
between  the  family  and  the  Pearly  Emperor,  so  he  is  an 
object  of  fear  and  honour.  He  is  worshipped  at  the  new 
and  full  moon,  and  he  is  "  thanked  "  by  a  feast  on  the 


324         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

fourth,  fourteenth,  and  twenty-fourth  of  the  sixth  month, 
and  twenty-fourth  of  the  eighth.  On  the  twenty-fourth 
of  the  twelfth  month  he  ascends  to  Heaven  to  report  to 
the  Pearly  Emperor,  and  is  received  home  again  on 
old  year's  night.  His  ascension  is  attained  by  placing 
his  wee  picture  in  a  little  bamboo  lamp-stand  covered 
with  red  paper  for  a  sedan  chair  ;  this  is  put  on  a  bundle 
of  rice  straw  in  front  of  the  door,  sugar  or  syrup  having 
first  been  rubbed  on  his  lips,  so  that  he  will  only  tell 
sweet  things  when  on  high ;  fire  is  set  to  the  martyr's 
funeral  pile,  a  libation  of  alcoholic 
wine  adds  to  the  flame,  and  rice  straw 
is  cut  small  as  a  substitute  for  water- 
melon seeds    for    him    to    eat  on  the 


way  up. 

God  of  Theatres. — Actors  worship 

the    god    of    theatres,   to   keep    from 

laughing  when  on  the  stage. 
Theatre-god.  God  of  Horses   and   Cows. — He 

is  much  worshipped  in  North  China, 
and  pays  special  attention  to  the  domestic  animals. 
Theatricals  are  paid  for  by  the  owners  of  stock.  The 
temples  are  under  official  patronage.  In  the  temple  in 
honour  of  these  gods  the  grooms  attached  to  the  Yamens 
worship  in  order  to  secure  health  and  mettle  to  their 
horses. 

Sheep-god — His  name  is  Hwang  Tsuping,  and  he 
lived  near  Hangchow  in  the  Kyinhwa  district.  He  told 
his  brother  his  sheep  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill, 
but  the  latter  found  only  white  stones.  Hwang  Tsuping 
came  and  cried,  "  Sheep,  get  up ;  sheep,  get  up,'*  when  the 


Gods  of  the  People, 


325 


whole  mountain  was  covered  with  his  flock.  If  a  sliepherd 
wishes  a  large  flock,  or  his  sheep  are  feeble,  he  worships 
the  sheep-god. 

God  of  Snakes. — The  image  of  the  snake-god  has 
sometimes  a  man's  head  and  a  snake's  body.  If  a  snake 
is  found  on  the  premises  the  tenant  immediately  repairs 
to  the  snake-god's  temple  ;  also  he  rubs  out  his  tracks 
with  manure.     At  the  feast  in  the  fifth  moon  they  mark 


Snake  King. 


all  little  children's  foreheads  with  the  word  "  king,"  and 
put  yellow  paint  on  their  legs,  as  a  charm  against  snakes 
and  centipedes.  "  Live  snakes  are  still  carried  in  proces- 
sion in  some  parts  of  China,  for  luck,  in  honour  of  the 
serpent  king." 

Holding-Snakes  god — He  was  twenty  feet  high  ;  a 
very  powerful  giant.  His  father's  name  was  Faith. 
Wherever  he  went  there  was  a  drought,  so  studying 
the  subject  he  became  convinced  that  drought  came  from 


326         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  sun,  and  he  must  try  and  destroy  the  sun.  For 
three  months  beside  the  Yellow  River  he  studied  the 
art  of  flying,  and  taking  a  green  snake  in  one  hand 
and  a  yellow  one  in  the  other,  he  followed  the  sun  in 
his  circuit,  but  overcome  with  thirst  and  heat  he  died. 
Afterwards  sacrifices  were  offered  to  him. 

The  god  of  Scorpions    is    much  worshipped  in   the 
Honan  province.      Sometimes  a  rustic  who  has  caught  a 


God  and  Goddess  of  the  Bed. 

basket  of  scorpions  for  medicinal  use  feels  on  his  shoulder 
the  touch  of  an  old  man,  the  god  of  scorpions,  who  says 
"  Friend,  you  have  taken  lives  enough,  go  home."  He  is 
very  effective  in  keeping  the  houses  free  from  the  green 
intruders. 

Locust-goddess.— It  is  said  that  Kiang  T'aikung 
divorced  his  wife  B.C.  1 122,  and  when  she  was  afterwards 
killed  by  lightning  he  made  her  the  locust-goddess. 

Gods  of  the  Bed  are  worshipped  on  the  wedding 
day,  and  on  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  each  moon. 


Gods  of  the  People.  327 


Old  Man  and  Woman  of  the  Bed.— By  worship- 
ping these  two  venerable  deities,  peaceful  slumbers  will 
be  secured. 

Gold-god.— The  god  of  gold  is  worshipped  by  all 
silversmiths  and  in  the  jewellery  shops. 

Tea-god. — He  was  Loh  Yii  of  the  T'ang  dynasty. 
In  the  north  King  Lingtsze  is  worshipped,  and  in  South 
China  Sung  Sukung. 

Salt-god. — He  is  the  first  man  who  made  salt ;  his 
name  is  ''  World  Wood." 

Gods  of  the  Compass — There  is  a  sacrifice  in  the 
autumn  of  the  year.  For  the  east  it  is  Keu  Mung ;  south, 
Choh  Yung ;  west,  Suh  Seu ;  north,  Yuen  Ming. 

God  of  the  North  Place. — He  rules  drought,  flood, 
war,  famine,  and  pestilence ;  as  well  as  prosperous  and 
successful  years.  His  name  is  Yuen  Ming;  probably 
the  same   as  the  last  mentioned. 

God  of  the  Soul. — Lo  Yuyang.  He  obtained  the 
power  of  releasing  his  soul  and  letting  it  roam  at  pleasure. 
He  had  some  interviews  with  Laotsze. 

Gods  of  Strength — A  class  of  fabulous  beings  believed 
to  be  superior  to  men  (Gavudas). 

God  of  Happiness. — Every  Yamen  (governmental 
residence)  has  a  god  of  happiness,  whose  duties  are 
multifarious. 

Wang  Papa — He  is  the  chief  of  police  in  the  land 
of  shades.  The  owners  of  lost  property  make  application 
to  him  for  recovery  of  goods,  sometimes  sticking  a  list 
of  valuables  on  his  person.  Notices  of  "  jNIan  Lost," 
with  the  character  "  jMan  "  turned  upside  down,  are  at 
times  pasted  to  his  clay  raiment. 


328         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Goddess  of  Travel. — She  was  the  wife  of  the  Emperor 
Hien  Yuen.  The  Emperor  went  on  a  journey  to  Mount 
T'ai  to  place  a  handful  of  earth  on  the  top  as  an  offering 
to  Heaven,  and  a  clod  on  a  clean  spot  on  the  level  ground 
as  an  offering  to  the  mountain,  and  the  Empress  dying 
en  route  he  appointed  her  the  goddess  of  travel. 

The  Rambling  god. — He  roams  around,  and  if  he 
hears  a  quarrel  or  sees  anything  wrong,  he  repairs  to 
the  spot ;  he  records  the  good  and  bad  deeds,  and 
has  the  power  of  inflicting  immediate  punishment. 

God  of  Archery. — He  was  the  first  great  archer.  His 
name  was  Emei,  now  called  Suhchang. 

God  of  The  Wave. — Wutszeseu  was  drowned  in  the 
River  Seu.     Merchants  on  long  journeys  worship  him. 

Field-ancestor  god. — The  divine  husbandman.  Shin 
Nung,  was  the  original  god  of  the  field,  but  as  he  became 
the  god  of  medicine,  his  son,  Suh  Kuin,  is  considered 
the  field-ancestor  god. 

God  of  the  Favouring  Wind. — He  is  worshipped 
by  all  travellers,  especially  by  those  on  the  Grand  Canal, 
where  it  crosses  the  broad  bosom  of  the  Yangtsze.  This 
god  acts  as  a  kind  of  insurance  agent. 

Bridge  gods — They  have  no  images,  but  rule  the 
spirits  of  the  drowned.  When  a  funeral  procession  passes 
over  the  bridge,  the  chief  mourner,  who  is  the  filial  son, 
gets  down  on  his  knees  and  worships  the  god  of  the 
bridge. 

Lamp-god — His  name  is  Ma  Chuan.  Kiang 
T'aikung  tried  to  kill  him,  but  three  strokes  of  the 
executioner's  axe  did  no  harm.  He  tried  to  burn  him, 
but    Ma   Chuan   fled   on    the    wings   of  the  flame.     He 


Gods  of  the  People.  329 


borrowed  a  mirror  from  the  liobgo])lins,  and  it  was  seen 
that  he  was  made  of  fire.  The  lamp  for  one  thousand 
years  did  not  go  out,  so  he  became  a  man. 

The  Forty  Masters.— There  are  seventy-two  masters 
or  teachers,  who  are  grouped  in  one  temple,  the  devotee 
worshipping  the  one  he  wishes  to  propitiate  ;  of  these, 
thirty-two  are  physicians  and  belong  to  the  jNIedical 
Chapter  ;  the  names  of  the  rest  are  here  given, 
the  numbers  corresponding  to  their  position  in  the 
temple  : — 

14,  Warding-oflf-evil  Master;  15,  Master  of  gold;  16, 
Silver;  17,  Mitigate  calamity;  19,  Fortune;  20, 
Military  ;  22,  Snakes  ;  23,  Magpies  ;  24,  Serpent-Demon  ; 
2^^  Fortune  as  you  desire  ;  26,  Peace  in  Heaven  ;  29, 
Protect  life;  30,  To  add  age;  31,  Police;  32,  Master 
of  office  ;  33,  Calamity  ;  35,  Horses  ;  37,  Happiness  ;  38, 
Sages;  40,  Sixty  cycles;  41,  Palace;  42,  Earth;  43,  Five 
quarters  of  the  earth ;  44,  Grain ;  45,  Marriage  ;  46, 
Literary  essays  ;  50,  Water  ;  51,  Mediator  to  the  Eastern 
Peak;  ^2^  Master  of  Six  Household  gods ;  54,  Thunder;  ^^^ 
Vows  ;  ^^^  Canals  ;  62,  Misery  ;  64,  Rewards  ;  65,  Fields  ; 
67,  Riches;  68,  Grain;  69,  Protection;  70,  Cursing;  71; 
Fate ;  72,  Escaping  from  evil ;  73,  Bridges  and  Boats , 
74,  Punishments. 

The  Five  or  Twenty-five  gods. — They  are  called 
"  The  five  gods,"  but  there  are  five  groups  of  five.  To 
prevent  murder,  five  gods  ;  to  prevent  robbery,  five  gods ; 
to  prevent  fornication,  five  gods ;  to  prevent  falsehood, 
five  gods  ;  to  prevent  drunkenness,  five  gods. 

God  of  the  Rough  Gem. — Pien  Ho  offered  a  gem 
in  the  rough  to   King    Lee,  who  cut  off  both   liis   legs, 


330         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demo7i. 

as  he  thought  it  was  only  granite.    Afterwards  discovering 
its  quality,  Pien  Ho  was  appointed  by  him  Gem-god. 

Little-boy  god. — He  is  a  prophet,  and  all  his  pre- 
dictions are  fulfilled,  so  if  a  man  can  inquire  of  him  his 
destiny,  he  will  avoid  all  calamity.  His  residence  is  at 
the  south  pole. 

The  Yin-dragon  god. — He  is  the  essence  of  fire, 
and  dwells  in  southern  Kiangsu  ;  he  has  wings,  and  can 
fly  through  the  nine  heavens  ;  with  a  brush  of  his  tail 
on  the  land,  fountains  of  water  spring  up. 

The  Yellow-dragon  god.  —  In  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Shun  all  the  great  Mandarins  saw  him.  His 
scales  were  resplendent  as  gold.  He  gave  the  Emperor 
a  charm  and  a  chart. 

Silk-worm  god — Near  Wuseih,  a  countryman  had 
forty-nine  basket-waiters  of  silk-worms,  when  seeing  a 
very  large  silk-worm  he  chopped  it  in  two,  whereupon 
all  his  silk-worms  died.  He  knew  then  he  had  killed  the 
god  of  silk-worms.  Now  worshipped  in  the  silk  districts. 
Near  the  G-reat  Lake,  Madame  Silk-worm  is  worshipped. 

God  of  the  Year. — A  son  of  the  Emperor  Show, 
named  Yin  Chow.  His  father,  the  abandoned  tyrant, 
killed  Yin  Chow's  mother  at  the  instigation  of  a  con- 
cubine, and  was  about  to  kill  the  son,  when  he  fled,  and  one 
of  the  genii  took  him  for  a  disciple.  Afterwards  in  battle 
he  was  defeated,  and  Janteng  Buddha  caused  two  hills 
to  meet  and  hold  him  as  if  in  a  vice.  Kiang  T'aikung 
made  him  the  T'ai-Swuy  god.  He  is  one  of  the  fiercest 
gods  in  China.  Worshipped  by  the  Mandarins  at  the 
reception  of  spring. 

Goddess  of  the    Male  Principle  of  Nature — She 


Gods  of  the  People, 


Zl^ 


was  the  Princess  Ch'ang  Yung  of  the  Shang  dynasty. 
She  became  an  immortal  and  dwelt  on  the  mountains 
and  though  this  maiden  lady  was  aged  two  hundred,  she 
looked  like  a  damsel  in  her  teens.  Walking  in  the  sun 
she  cast  no  shadow. 

Family  gods  of  the  Door.— These  diflfer  from  the 
door-gods  used  in  front  of  the  Yamens.  Their  names 
are  Shinto  and  Yuihleu.  There  was  a  peach  tree  with 
a  limb  bent  over,  thus  making  an  arch,  and  through 
this    spirits    passed   and    repassed.      The    two   door-gods 


Little  Boy  at  the  Well. 

could  subdue  these  evil  spirits,  and  the  Emperor,  as  his 
palace  was  haunted,  cut  down  the  peach  tree,  painted 
their  pictures,  and  hung  them  up.  The  farmers  at 
the  new  year  put  them  to  guard  their  front  doors. 

The  Ting  gods.— The  Tmg  gods  are  six  in  number: 
1,  Kwang  Chang;  2,  Yii  Yii  ;  3,  Yellow  Devil;  4.  Great 
Cataract  (of  the  eye)  ;  5,  Kang  Shin  ;  6,  Tunglih.  These 
r.ix  assisted  the  Grreat  Yu  in  his  labours  with  the  floods 
and  streams.  Chang,  the  Taoist  Pope,  can  summon  them 
at  his  will,  and  the    priests    rely  on  the   T'lnij  gods  to 


^^2         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

expel  demons.     On  the  land  they  can  subdue  tigers  and 
panthers,  and  in  the  water  overcome  dragons. 

Little  Boy  at  the  Well — The  picture  represents  a 
Chinese  well,  which  is  generally  in  the  open  court  of  the 
house.  The  well-god,  who  is  a  little  boy,  has  no  image, 
but  his  picture  is  put  beside  the  well  at  the  new  year, 
and  a  sacrifice  in  the  form  of  a  feast  is  made  to  him. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


GODS      OF      TRADES. 


''  I  ^HE  Chinese  speak  of  the  "  three  hundred  and  sixty 
■*-  trades  "  as  inckiding  all  their  different  trades, 
professions,  and  business  employments.  Nearly  every  one 
has  its  patron  divinity,  related  to  it  as  Jubal,  "  the  father 
of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp 
and  organ,"  or  Tubal-Cain,  "  an 
instructor  of  every  artificer  in 
brass  and  iron,"  were  to  their  re- 
spective arts,  but  now  worshipped 
as  the  guiding  spirit. 

Carpenters'  god. — Lu  Pan 
was  "a  famous  mechanician  of  the 
state  of  Lu,  said  to  have  been  con- 
temporary with  Confucius.  Won- 
derful stories  are  related  of  his 
ingenuity ;  among  others  it  is  said  that  his  father 
having  been  put  to  death  by  the  men  of  Wu,  he  carved 
an  effigy  in  wood  of  a  genius,  whose  hand  pointed  in  tlie 
direction  of  Wu,  where,  in  consequence,  a  drought  pre- 
vailed for  the  space  of  three  years.  On  receiving  su})- 
plications  and  largess  from  the  men  of  Wu,  he  cut  off 
the  hand  of  the  figure,  when  rain  at  once  fell.  He  is 
worshipped  as  the  patron   divinity  of  car[)enters."     Ship 


Carpenter's  God 


334        ^^^^  Di'agoji,  I  mage  ^  and  Demon. 

carpenters  also  worship  him,  as  he  was  the  first  to  build 
a  boat. 

Masons'  god. — His  name  is  Chang  Pan.  He  was  a 
bricklayer,  but  afterwards  became  an  immortal.  When 
a  house  is  built  they  have  the  two  pictures  of  Lu  Pan 
and  Chang  Pan,  and  both  the  owner  of  the  property 
and  the  workmen  offer  a  sacrificial  feast  and  engage  in 
worship.  These  two  gods  are  worshipped  in  every  car- 
penter's shop  and  in  the  guild  halls. 

Fishermen's  god. — It  is  said  that  Kiang  T'aikung 
angled,  with  a  straight  hook  (if  it  might  be  called  a 
''  hook  "),  and  a  grain  of  rice  for  bait,  till  he  was  eighty 
years  of  age,  when  he  became  the  premier.  Fishermen 
now  worship  him. 

God  of  the  Net. — Fuhhe  is  the  god  of  the  net ;  he 
watched  the  spider  weave  her  web  and  obtained  the  idea 
of  catching  fish,  hares,  and  birds.  As  in  the  time  of 
Habakkuk,  '*  they  sacrifice  unto  their  net  and  burn  incense 
unto  their  drag." 

Bacchus — Tu  K'ang  was  one  of  the  early  distillers 
of  wine  from  rice,  and  is  worshipped  in  the  wineshops 
and  distilleries  three  times  a  year,  when  he  is  requested 
to  flavour  the  sarashu  and  preserve  it  from  being  injured. 
His  picture  with  the  libation  is  burned  in  the  court  in 
front  of  the  hall,  his  face  being  turned  to  the  west  to 
let  him  go  to  the  Western  Paradise.  The  devotees 
"  hang  a  sign-board  on  their  faces,"  as  after  the  sacrificial 
feast  their  noses  are  "  red  apples "  and  their  cheeks 
"  peach   blossoms." 

Drunkards  worship  Lee  T'aipeh,  who  could  drink  three 
hundred  cups  of  alcohol  at  one  sitting. 


Gods  of  Trades.  335 


Etee  is  the  "fabled  inventor  of  wine.  The  EniixMor's 
daughter  commanded  Etee  to  make  wine,  and  it  was  good. 
She  gave  it  to  the  Emperor,  who,  when  he  Iiad  tasted  it, 
pom-ed  the  hquid  upon  the  ground,  sent  Etee  into  bani.vli- 
ment,  and  forbade  the  knowledge  of  wine." 

Bean-Curd  god — Hwei  Nanhwang  is  worshipped  as 
a  paper  god,  three  times  a  year  in  the  bean-curd  shops 
and  in  the  guild  hall.  He  taught  the  people  how  to 
make  bean-curd,  and  so  was  a  benefactor  to  his  race. 
Wang  Lingan  is  also  said  to  have  first  manufactured 
bean-curd. 

God  of  Barbers. — Loh  Yuinshan  taught  m.en  the  art 
of  shaving  and  hair-cutting,  and  is  now  worshii)ped  by 
the  army  of  barbers  who  shave  the  heads,  scrape  the 
faces,  plait  the  queues,  clean  the  ears,  wipe  the  eyelids, 
and  thump  the  backs  of  the  black-haired  race. 

The  Tailors'  god. — Hien  Yuen.  Before  his  time 
men  wore  raiment  of  fig  leaves,  and  he  first  taught  them 
to  wear  clothing. 

God  of  Silk — His  name  is  See  Lingsze,  and  he  is 
worshipped  by  the  silk  merchants  and  by  silk  and  satin 
weavers.     Before  his  era  men  dressed  in  linen. 

Goddess  of  Embrodiery — She  was  the  third  concu- 
bine of  Hien  Yuen,  and  was  skilled  in  needlework,  so  was 
appointed  goddess  of  the  needle  and  of  embroidery.  Little 
girls  who  take  lessons  in  embroidery  worship  this  goddess. 

Ancestor  of  Jade. — The  old  women  worship  him  on 
the  nineteenth  of  the  second,  seventh,  and  ninth  moons. 
They  write  their  names  on  the  tinfoil  money,  place  it 
before  the  idol  and  burn  it,  hoping  at  death  they  will  get 
it  back. 


^^6         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

God  of  Musical  Instruments. — Cha  Yung.  He  is 
worshipped  by  drum  and  violin  shops. 

Jugglers'  god.— Named  Keh  Sienhung.  He  could 
blow  a  grain  of  rice  out  of  his  mouth  and  it  would  turn 
into  thousands  of  bees.  He  would  call  them  back  and  eat 
them  as  rice. 

God  of  the  Paper  Clothing  Stores — The  paper 
clothing  stores,  which  are  regular  furnishing  establish- 
ments for  the  dead,  worship  their  patron  divinity. 

God  of  Architecture. — He  is  worshipped  when  a  new- 
house  is  built.  He  is  probably  the  ''Yellow  Emperor" 
who  "regulated  costume,  taught  his  people  how  to  manu- 
facture utensils  of  w^ood,  pottery,  and  metal,  constructed 
a  palace,  which  is  by  some  held  to  have  been  the  first 
royal  residence,    and   invented  a  medium   of  currency." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE   ABSURDITIES   OF   POLYTHEISM. 

IT  is  not  intended  by  this  heading  that  all  the  follies 
of  paganism  are  collected  in  this  chapter,  for  this  is 
a  book  full  of  its  absurdities.  The  conceits  of  the  human 
mind  in  its  worship  and  service  of  the  creature  are 
puerile  and  ridiculous. 

Rain  Clothes  Dwarf. — His  father  died  when  he  was 
an  infant,  his  mother  wept  herself  blind,  and  he,  the 
son,  a  dwarf,  became  a  servant.  He  dresses  in  shaggy 
straw  clothes,  such  as  the  farmers  wear  in  the  fields  when 
it  rains,  and  has  on  his  head  an  umbrella  straw  hat 
(nyah  mao). 

The  Monkey-god.— Before  heaven  and  earth  existed, 
or  Pankoo  lived,  there  was  the  monkey.  By  taking  in 
the  flashes  of  light  from  the  sun  and  moon,  his  animal 
spirits  were  made  perfect,  and  at  one  t-omersault  he 
could  travel  one  thousand  miles.  His  peregrinations  were 
to  the  Heavenly  Palace,  the  isles  of  the  Immortals,  and 
down  to  Hades.  He  stole  from  the  Western  Kcyal 
Mother  the  peach  of  immortality,  defeated  the  generals 
of  heaven  in  battle,  and  stirred  up  a  row  in  the  palace 
of  the  Pearly  Emperor.  At  length  he  was  captured  by 
Buddha  and  shut  up  within  a  hill,  but  was  released  by 
the  famous  traveller  Hieuntsang. 


\2,^         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


God  of  Lice.  — In  case  some  reader  may  doubt 
the  authenticity  of  this  narrative,  it  may  be  stated  that 
the  temple  of  the  god  of  lice  is  within  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  author's  chapel.  He  was  a  famous  general, 
who  commanded  a  besieged  city,  and  was  so  busy  day 
and  night  that  he  could  not  change  his  raiment,  and 
consequently  he  was  covered  with  ''  grey-backs,"  which, 
as   the    natives    say,   are    generated    by   perspiration    in 

the  pores  of  the  skin ;  these 
swarms  of  little  creatures  gra- 
dually "  drank  his  blood," 
acting  as  an  enemy's  sword 
to  the  warrior.  He  was 
canonized  as  the  god  of  lice. 
When  our  neighbours  make  a 
raid  on  their  bodily  attend- 
ants, they  wrap  them  up  in 
paper  and  put  them  under 
the  censer,  and  the  god  whisks 
them  to  the  paradise  of  in- 
sects. When  one  of  the 
lower  classes  is  seen  sitting 
in  the  sunshine  examining  his  clothes,  and  making  a 
hearty  meal  off  the  multitude  of  insects  which  he  finds, 
we  do  not  wonder  that  the  god  of  lice  is  worshipped 
in  this  country. 

Punch  and  Judy  god.— As  fond  as  the  black-haired 
race  is  of  Punch  and  Judy,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
large  number  who  play  with  these  wooden  men  and 
women  should  desire  a  patron  for  their  theatricals.  His 
name    is    Chen    Ping,    >Yh<?    was    the    minister    of    Han 


Lice-god, 


The  Absurdities  of  Polytheism.  339 

Kaotsu,  and  first  used  a  wooden  man  at  the  siege  of 
Peh  Ten. 

God  of  Fire-crackers. — Named  Leedien.  In  the 
mountains  of  the  west  there  is  a  giant  devil  over  ten 
feet  high,  at  the  sight  of  whom  men  grow  faint. 
Leedien  found  that  the  popping  of  fire-crackers  woiihl 
frighten  him  away,  hence  they  are  considered  a  pro- 
tection from  evil  spirits,  and  are  not  so  much  intended 
for  boys  to  use  in  sport  as  for  an  article  of  heathen 
worship. 

God  of  Cruelty.— He  was  called  "Two  Worlds.'' 
After  death  he  was  a  monster  of  cruelty.  Hankaotsu 
appointed  him  the  god  of  cruelty. 

The  Chinese  sometimes  go  before  the  city  god,  and  tell 
him  of  any  difficulty  they  have  had  with  another,  and  ask 
him  to  adjudicate  it  after  death. 

God  of  Revenge. — There  is  nothing  so  sweet  to  the 
Chinese  as  revenge,  and  this  stands  in  contrast  with 
many  excellent  national  traits  of  character.  The  god  of 
revenge  is  2,  straw  man.  When  a  house  lias  been  robbed, 
or  a  man  has  a  personal  enemy,  there  is  resort  to  witch- 
craft. A  straw  image  of  the  enemy  or  the  thief  is  made, 
and  daily  worshipped ;  needles  are  stuck  in  the  eyes, 
blood  is  made  to  issue  from  the  nose  and  ears,  the  arms 
and  body  are  pierced,  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that 
this  process  will  send  pains,  sickness,  and  probably  death 
on  the  object  of  hatred.  The  practice  is  univer.>^al  in 
China ;  I  have  seen  it  in  this  city  of  Soochow,  and  recently 
in  Hongkong  a  man  made  an  application  to  the  courts 
to  bind  over  his  adversary  "  to  keep  the  p-ace '"  and 
not  use  witchcraft,  as  witnesses  present  proved  that  he 


340         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


had  made  a  straw  image  and  was  worshipping  it  at  his 
home. 

Manure  of  Goddess. — Tsze  Kou  was  the  concubine 
of  Mr.  Lee ;  incurring  the  animosity  of  the  head  wife  she 
was  killed,  and  was  appointed  by  the  Ancient  Original  as 
goddess  of  manure.  She  is  much  worshipped  by  the 
manure  hongs. 

Goddess  of  Fornication. — It  was  told  the  king  that 
there  was  a  female  sprite,  with  a  red  skirt,  dishevelled 
hair,  arms  and  feet  bare,  who,  travelling  as  swift  as  the^ 
wind,  was  corrupting  public  morals.  She  was  shot  through 
with  an  arrow  and  her  flesh  became  a  mountain.  She  is 
the  goddess  of  lasciviousness  ;  she  has  no  temple,  image, 
or  picture,  but  in  front  of  houses  of  ill  fame  courtesans 
burn  incense  before  the  door  and  make  prostrations  in  her 
honour. 

Goddess  of  the  Corner. — It  is  customary  for  young 
ladies  to  apply  to  this  deity  to  have  their  fortunes  told. 
After  burning  incense  they  take  a  peck  measure  turned 
upside  down,  with  a  flower  on  it ;  this  is  for  a  sedan  ;  then 
one  inquires,  "  Is  Miss  Corner  at  home  ?  "  Answer,  "  No." 
"Is  the  second  Miss  Corner  here?"  '^  No."  "Is  little 
Miss  Corner  present  ?  "  "  Yes."  She  takes  her  seat  in 
the  peck  measure  and  is  carried  to  the  table,  on  which 
rice  is  spread  as  an  offering.  One  bows  and  asks  of  the 
oracle  what  her  fortune  is  to  be.  The  peck  basket  is 
held  over  the  rice,  and  the  answer  is  written  by  a  needle 
attached  to  it. 

God  of  Shadows — This  divinity  can  cause  a  shadow 
to  turn  in  the  opposite  direction. 

God  of  Gamblers In   his  hand  he  holds  the  dice. 


The  AbsMj-dities  of  Polytheis7n.  341 

His  name  is  "Wang,  the  Pure."  He  was  a  celebrated 
gambler,  and  lost  S1,000,000  at  the  Faro  Bank.  After  that 
he  did  not  gamble,  but  when  he  saw  a  friend  reduced 
to  beggary  by  gaming,  he  took  him  to  his  home  and 
taught  him  the  science.  Wang,  the  Pure,  is  the 
gambler's  god.  Unfortunately  many  trust  in  him  and 
pray  to  him. 

Bad  gods. — The  majority  of  the  deities  in  the  Chinese 
pantheon  were  originally  good  and  great  men,  who 
rendered  important  services  to  the  State  or  were  the 
people's  benefactors,  and  it  is 
easy  to  see  how  they  might  be- 
come demigods  in  the  estimation 
of  the  nation.  The  inquirer, 
however,  meets  with  the  startling 
fact  that  not  a  few  of  their 
divinities  were  the  vilest  men 
w^ho  have  ever  wielded  power  in 
China.  Why  is  this?  The  answer 
is  given,  that  it  is  well  to  offer  Dice-ffod. 

sacrifice  to  them  and  keep  them 

quiet,  and  resting  in  their  own  places  in  Hades,  lest 
they  might  return  to  earth  and  disturb  its  inhabitants — 
much  as  if  Israel  had  worshipped  Jeroboam  and  Ahab  upon 
the  high  places.  In  many  cases  the  people  do  not  know 
they  were  such  bad  characters.  The  god  of  war  was  a 
man  of  blood.  The  character  of  the  god  of  wealth  was 
not  above  reproach.  The  prison-god  was  noted  for  his 
ferocity.  When  preaching  the  other  day  a  man  asked, 
"  How  about  the  Five  Holy  Ones,  who  ride  on  their 
horses   over   the    hills   outside    the   city  at    night  ? "     I 


342         TJie  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


replied,  "  I  do  not  know  anything  about  them  except 
they  are  such  bad  gods,  the  mandarins  have  frequently 
destroyed  their  temples."  The  god  of  small-pox  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  pesthouse,  not  as  a  compliment  to 
his  amiability  and  virtue.  Two  striking  illustrations  will 
be  given. 

The  Emperor  Show. — He  occupies   a    high  rank  in 
the  pantheon,  though  not  worshipped  by  the  people.    "  He 


General  Kiang. 

was  the  abandoned  tyrant  whose  downfall  brought  the 
dynasty  of  Shang  to  a  close,  B.C.  1123.  Wild  extrava- 
gance, unbridled  lust,  and  the  most  ferocious  cruelty  are 
enumerated  among  his  vices.  To  please  his  infamous 
concubine  he  constructed  vast  palaces  and  pleasure 
grounds  where  wild  forms  of  debauchery  were  practised. 
According  to  the  legends,  he  formed  a  lake  of  wine, 
caused  the  trees  to  be  hung  with  viands,  and  set  men 
and     women,  unrobed,   to    chase    each   other   before  his 


The  Absurdities  of  PolytJicisui.  343 

eyes.  The  category  of  his  ofifences  against  Heaven  is 
summed  up  in  the  '  Great  Declaration.'  "  The  Emperor 
Show  figures  extensively  in  the  ''Book  of  appointing 
gods." 

Kiang  T'aikung. — He  was  said  to  have  been  born  \\x\ 
1210,  and  died  B.C.  1120.  He  is  the  most  celebrated  clia- 
racter  in  the  "Book  of  appointing  gods;"  a  distinguished 


Worshipping  the  Stone  Lion. 

warrior,  and  a  counsellor  to  the  Chief  of  the  West,  ''  he 
wielded  a  valiant  sword  and  slaughtered  his  enemies  ;  he 
was,  however,  as  magnanimous  as  he  was  brave,  for  he 
immediately  made  the  foe  weltering  in  his  blood  a  god. 
Tn  this  way  he  is  the  god  of  Chinese  gods.  The  acconnt 
of  his  earthly  exploits  and  heavenly  deeds  is  perhai)s  the 
greatest  book  of  marvels   ever   printed.     His  picture    is 


344         ^/^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

pasted  on  the  walls  of  houses,  so  that  if  an  inauspicious 
word  is  spoken  it  will  be  powerless  to  injure  the  occupants. 
He  is  the  pivot  of  Chinese  mythology,  and  around  him 
the  celestial  hosts  revolve. 

The  Stone  Lion. — In  front  of  every  official  Yamen 
there  are  a  pair  of  stone  lions,  who  guard,  as  Cerberus, 
the  courts  of  justice.  It  is  believed  that  at  night  they 
are  living  lions,  and  are  seen  roaming  around,  so  those 
who  live  near  the  Grovernor's  residence  in  Soochow  worship 
these  four-footed  creatures. 

On  the  "  Absurdities  of  Polytheism  "  see  Chapters  IX., 
page  129  ;  XIV.,  pages  258,  265,  2m,  and  270  ;  XIX., 
page  323  ;  XX.,  page  336. 


CHAPTER  XXir. 

TAOIST   PHILOSOPHY. 

Laotsze. — The  founder  of  Taoism  as  a  philosophy, 
not  as  a  religion,  was  born  probably  B.C.  604,  in  the 
province  of  Honan.  The  details  of  his  life  are  quite 
meagre,  and  in  this  respect  the  first  Taoist  stands  in 
striking  contrast  with  Confucius  and  Buddha,  about  whom 
so  much  is  known,  for  there  are  only  a  few  historical 
morsels,  and  of  the  legends  several  are  so  evidently 
Buddhistic  that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  recount  them. 
It  is  said  that  the  period  of  gestation  was  over  threescore 
and  ten  years,  so  the  young  babe  had  "  the  hoary  head  as 
a  crown  of  glory  "  and  his  face  was  wrinkled  like  an  aged 
man  bowed  down  with  years.  His  official  title  is  "The 
Grreat  Supreme  Venerable  Prince  ;  "  his  name  is  Laotsze, 
which  means,  literally,  "  Old  Boy  ;  "  or,  judging  from 
some  things  that  are  said  about  him,  the  "  Wild-Western  " 
appellation  of  "  Old  Coon  "  is  not  inappropriate.  ''  He 
was  appointed  librarian  by  the  Emperor,  and  diligently 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  books, 
becoming  acquainted  with  all  the  rites  and  histories  of 
former  times."  He  became  famous  as  a  teacher  of  i)hil(>- 
sophy,  had  a  goodly  number  of  students,  retired  from  the 
haunts  of  men,  and  devoted  himself  to  speculation.     His 


34^         ^/^^  i^i^(igon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

followers  now  speak  of  his  pre-existence,  of  his  deitication, 
and  of  his  "  travelling  to  the  West  to  learn  their  doctrines, 
which  he  embodied  in  his  work  ;  "  his  position  as  the  third 
person  in  the  Taoist  trinity  and  the  creator  is  alluded  to 
in  the  next  chapter. 

It  is  on  record  that  the  young  teacher,  Confucius,  B.C. 
517,   sought  an  interview  with  the  aged  man.     Laotsze 


Laotsze. 

said  to  him,  "  Those  whom  you  talk  about  are  dead, 
and  their  bones  are  mouldered  to  dust, —  only  their 
words  are  left.  Moreover,  when  the  superior  man  gets 
his  time  he  mounts  aloft ;  but,  when  the  time  is 
against  him,  he  moves  as  if  his  feet  were  entangled.  I 
have  heard  that  a  good  merchant,  though  he  has  rich 
treasures  deeply  stored,  appears  as  if  he  were  poor,  and 
that  the  superior  man,  though  his  virtue  is  complete,  is 


Taoist  PJiilosophy.  347 


yet  to  outward  seeming  stupid.  Put  away  your  proud 
air  and  many  desires,  your  insinuating  habit  and  wild 
will.  These  are  of  no  advantage  to  you  ; — this  is  all 
I  have  to  tell  you."  The  youtliful  sage  said  to  the 
venerable  philosopher  that  he  had  sought  for  the  Tao  for 
twenty  years.  He  replied,  "If  the  Tao  could  be  offered 
to  men,  there  is  no  one  who  would  not  willingly  offer  it 
to  his  prince ;  if  it  could  be  presented  to  men,  everybody 
would  like  to  present  it  to  his  parents  ;  if  it  could  be 
announced  to  men,  each  man  would  gladly  announce  it  to 
his  brothers;  if  it  could  be  handed  down  to  men,  who 
would  not  wish  to  transmit  it  to  his  children  ?  ^Vhy, 
then,  can  you  not  obtain  it  ?  This  is  the  reason.  You 
are  incapable  of  giving  it  an  asylum  in  your  heart.*' 
Confucius,  thirty-five  years  old,  did  not  seem  to  relish  the 
blunt,  or,  rather,  pointed  remarks  of  old  Diogenes,  now 
near  ninety.  He  remarked  to  his  disciples,  ''  I  know 
how  birds  can  fly,  fishes  swim,  and  animals  run.  But  the 
runner  may  be  snared,  the  swimmer  hooked,  and  the  flyer 
shot  by  the  arrow.  But  there  is  the  dragon  ;  I  cannot 
tell  how  he  mounts  on  the  wind  through  the  clouds  and 
rises  to  heaven.  To-day  I  have  seen  Laotsze,  and  can 
only  compare  him  to  the  dragon." 

The  Lonely  Picture — Laotsze  says  of  himself,  "  The 
world  is  joyful  and  merry  as  on  a  day  of  sacrifice.  I 
alone  prefer  solitude  and  quiet,  and  prefer  not  to  pry  into 
futurity.  I  am  like  an  infant  ere  it  has  grown  to  be  a 
child;  listlessly  I  roam  hither  and  thither,  as  though  I 
had  no  home  to  go  to.  .  .  .  Have  I  therefore  the  heart 
of  a  fool?  Confused  and  dim,  while  the  vulgar  are 
enlightened,    I  alone  am  in  the  dark.     Tossed  to  and  fro. 


34^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

like  the  sea  ;  roaming  without  cessation.  ...  I  alone  am 
doltish  as  a  clown." 

"  My  words  are  easy  to  understand,  easy  to  put  in 
practice;  yet  the  world  can  neither  understand  nor 
practise  them.  ...  It  is  only  ignorance  that  causes 
men  not  to  understand  my  doctrine.  Those  who  under- 
stand me  are  few." 

Tao  Teh  King. — So  thoroughly  Confucian  is  the 
scholarship  of  China,  that  the  philosophical  literature  of 
Taoism  is  comparatively  limited  ;  the  largest  collection 
of  translations  yet  made  is  a  volume  of  one  hundred 
pages.  The  great  work  of  Laotsze  is  the  Tao  Teh  King  or 
"  Canons  of  Wisdom  and  Virtue,"  which  consists  of  5,000 
words,  or  about  twice  the  length  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  It  is  a  very  brief  discussion  ;  the  style  is 
"  meagre  and  laconic ; "  much  of  it  is  puzzling  and 
obscure,  and  not  a  little  is  puerile  and  misanthropic. 
It  is,  however,  the  work  of  a  master  mind,  and  most  of  it, 
as  is  seen  in  the  extracts  given,  places  its  author  in  the 
ranks  of  great  and  good  men.  A  New  England  writer, 
to  whose  view  "  distance  lends  enchantment,"  speaks  of 
it  thus  :  "  Nothing  like  this  exists  in  Chinese  literature ; 
nothing,  so  far  as  yet  known,  so  lofty,  so  vital,  so  restful 
at  the  roots  of  strength ;  in  structure  as  wonderful  as 
in  spirit ;  the  fixed  syllabic  characters,  formed  for  visible 
and  definite  meaning,  here  compacted  into  terse 
aphorisms  of  a  mystical  and  universal  wisdom,  so  subtly 
translated  out  of  their  ordinary  spheres  to  meet  a 
demand  for  spiritual  expression,  that  it  is  confessedly 
almost  impossible  to  render  them  with  certainty  into 
another   tongue.  ...  It  is  a  book  of  wonderful  ethical 


Taoist  Philosophy,  34Q 


and  spiritual  simplicity,  and  deals  neither  in  speculutive 
cosmogony  nor  in  popular  superstitions.  It  is  in  practical 
earnest,  and  speaks  from  the  heart  to  the  heart." 

The  Tao.— The  keynote  of  the  Tao  Teh  King  is  Tao, 
which  is  the  text  upon  which  the  ancient  preacher  dis- 
courses, and  the  term  from  which  Taoism  comes.  It 
is  used  in  the  first  chapter  of  John  to  translate  the 
Logos;  it  is  often  rendered  "reason;"  it  sometimes 
means  the  "  way  ; "  the  word  "  method  "  is  not  a  bad 
version,  but  perhaps  the  best  yet  given  is  that  by  the 
author  of  "  Taoist  Texts,"  where  he  renders  Tao  by 
"Nature,"  or  "The  Principle  of  Nature,"  and  this 
translation  seems  to  throw  fresh  light  upon  the  work,  and 
certainly  is  a  key  that  unlocks  many  of  the  paragrajjlis. 

It  is  modestly  suggested  that  in  many  cases  Tao  mii^ht 
be  translated  "  wisdom,"  and  let  the  reader  put  the 
description  of  Tao  and  the  eighth  chapter  of  Proverbs 
in  parallel  columns,  and  he  will  be  struck  by  the  simi- 
larity. In  the  one  case  we  have  Solomon,  also  an  Asiatic, 
and  living  three  hundred  years  before  the  other,  with 
his  pen  guided  by  Divine  inspiration,  describing  the 
Hhohnah  as  "  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning 
or  ever  the  earth  was" — but  not  in  such  life-like  terms 
as  the  "beloved  disciple"  spoke  of  the  Logos,  for  he 
had  seen  the  "  Word  made  flesh,"  and  beheld  Him  "  full 
of  grace  and  truth  " — and  on  the  other  hand  the  pngaii 
philosopher,  whose  far-seeing  mind  was  striving,  as  it 
were,  to  clothe  a  vague  conception  in  the  habiliments  of 
immortality. 

What  does  Laotsze   say    in    different    passages   of  the 


350         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

"  Its  name  may  be  named,  but  it  is  not  an  ordinary 
name.  Its  nameless  period  preceded  the  birth  of  the 
Universe.  Having  a  name  it  is  the  mother  of  all  things. 
The  Tao  is  full,  yet  in  operation  as  though  not  self- 
elated.  In  its  origin  it  is,  as  it  were,  the  ancestor  of  all 
things.  I  know  not  whose  offspring  it  is.  Its  form 
existed  before  God  was.  It  is  mysterious,  recondite,  and 
penetrating.  Pellucid  as  a  spreading  ocean,  it  yet  has  the 
semblance  of  permanence.  There  was  something  formed 
from  chaos  which  came  into  being  before  Heaven  and 
earth.  Silent  and  boundless  it  stands  alone,  and  never 
changes.  It  pervades  every  place,  and  may  be  called  the 
mother  of  the  universe,  I  know  not  its  name  ;  but  its 
designation  is  Tao.  Heaven  is  Too,  and  Tao  survives  the 
death  of  him  who  is  the  embodiment  of  it,  living  on 
unharmed  for  ever.  The  Tao  of  Heaven  never  strives, 
yet  excels  in  victory.  The  Tao  of  Heaven  resembles  a 
drawn  bow.  It  brings  down  the  high  and  exalts  the 
lowly  ;  it  takes  from  those  who  have  superfluity  and  gives 
to  those  who  have  not  enough.  The  Grreat  Tao  is  all- 
pervasive  ;  it  may  be  seen  on  the  right  and  on  the  left. 
All  things  depend  upon  it  and  are  produced  ;  it  denies 
itself  to  none.  With  tenderness  it  nourishes  all  things, 
yet  claims  no  lordship  over  them." 

Again  the  utterances  of  the  "  old  moralist  and  mystic  " 
are  misty  ;  "  Tao,  considered  as  an  entity,  is  obscure  and 
vague.  Vague  and  obscure  !  yet  within  it  there  is  Form. 
Obscure  and  vague !  yet  within  it  there  is  substance. 
Vacuous  and  unfathomable  !  yet  within  it  there  is 
Quintessential  Energy." 

The   philosopher   Huai  Nantsze   thus  describes    Tao: 


Taoist  Philosophy.  351 


"  Tao  is  that  which  covers  Heaven  and  supports  Eartli ; 
its  height  cannot  be  measured  nor  its  depth  fathomed  ; 
it  enfolds  the  Universe  in  its  embrace."  "  The  Tao 
reaches  upwards  to  Heaven  and  touches  the  Earth 
beneath  ;  it  holds  together  the  Universe  and  the  Ages,  and 
supplies  the  Three  Luminaries  with  light."  '•  It  is  by  Tao 
that  mountains  are  high  and  abysses  deep  ;  that  beasts 
walk  and  birds  fly;  that  the  sun  and  moon  are  bright  and 
the  stars  revolve  in  their  courses;  that  the  unicorn  roams 
abroad  and  the  phoenix  hovers  in  the  air."  "  Tao  is  the 
beginning  and  end  of  the  visible  creation."  "  Tao^  in  its 
sublimest  aspect,  does  not  regard  itself  as  the  author  of 
Creation,  or  as  the  power  which  completes,  transforms, 
and  gives  all  things  their  shape."  "  All-pervading  and 
everywhere  revolving,  Tao  yet  cannot  be  sought  out  ; 
subtle  and  impalpable,  it  yet  cannot  be  overlooked;  if  it 
be  piled  up  it  will  not  be  high  ;  if  it  be  added  to  it  will 
not  increase ;  if  it  be  deducted  from,  it  will  not  be 
diminished.  Shadowy  and  indistinct  !  it  has  no  form. 
Indistinct  and  shadowy  !  its  resources  have  no  limit. 
Hidden  and  obscure !  it  reinforces  all  things  out  of 
formlessness.  Penetrating  and  permeating  everywhere  ! 
it  never  acts  in  vain."  "  Utterly  non-existent,  Tao  is  yet 
ever  ready  to  respond  to  those  who  seek  it." 

The  Canons  of  Wisdom  and  Virtue — A  few 
extracts  from  the  ''  Canons  of  Wisdom  and  Virtue  " 
is  all  that  the  limits  of  this  chapter  will  permit, — speci- 
mens of  the  best  sayings  in  the  book. 

1.  The  Sage. — "  The  Sage's  heart  is  not  immutable  ;  he 
regards  the  people's  heart  as  his  own.  The  virtue  of  the 
sage  makes  others  virtuous."     "The  sage  never  departs 


352         Ihe  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

from  either  calmness  or  gravity.  Although  there  may 
be  spectacles  of  worldly  glory,  he  sits  quietly  alone, 
far  above  the  common  crowd." 

2.  Purity. — "  By  controlling  the  vital  force  and 
bringing  it  to  the  utmost  degree  of  pliancy,  one  is  able 
to  become  as  a  little  child  again.  By  washing  and 
cleansing  oneself  of  that  which  Heaven  alone  can  see  [i.e., 
secret  sins],  one  may  become  without  one  blemish." 

3.  Humility. — "  It  is  better  to  desist  altogether,  than 
having  once  grasped  [wisdom]  to  pride  oneself  on  one's 
self-sufficiency."  "  To  keep  oneself  in  the  background 
when  merit  has  been  achieved  and  fame  has  followed  in 
its  wake,  this  is  the  way  of  Heaven."  "  The  sage  does 
not  say  that  he  himself  can  see,  and  therefore  he  is 
perspicacious.  He  does  not  say  that  he  himself  is  right, 
and  therefore  he  is  manifested  to  all.  He  does  not  praise 
himself,  and  therefore  his  merit  is  recognized.  He  is  not 
self-conceited,  and  therefore  he  increases  [in  knowledge]." 
"  He  who  says  himself  that  he  can  see  is  not  enlightened. 
He  that  praises  himself  has  no  merit.  He  who  is  self- 
conceited  will  not  increase  [in  knowledge]." 

4.  The  Three  Precious  Things. — Compassion,  frugality, 
and  modesty.  "  I  prize  compassion  ;  therefore  I  am  able 
to  be  fearless.  I  prize  frugality ;  therefore  I  am  able  to 
be  liberal.  I  prize  modesty ;  therefore  I  am  able  to 
become  a  leader  of  men."  ''  Now  when  one  is  com- 
passionate in  battle,  he  will  be  victorious.  When  one  is 
compassionate  in  defending,  his  defences  will  be  strong. 
When  Heaven  intends  to  deliver  men,  it  employs  com- 
passion to  deliver  them." 

5.  Good  for  Evil. — The  brightest  literary  gem  of  the 


Taoist  Philosophy.  353 


old  philosopher  is  when  he  says  of  the  ideal  vuni,  '^  lie 
recompenses  injury  with  kindness."  To  return  love  for 
hatred  is  the  crowning  glory  of  Christianity,  and  when 
a  sage,  with  only  the  light  of  heaven  for  a  guide,  utters 
such  an  exalted  sentiment,  we  must  assign  him  a  high 
position  in  the  temple  of  worthies. 


23 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


TAOISM   AS   A   RELIGION. 


rr^HE  philosopher  Laotsze  had  not  the  slightest  inten- 
-*-  tion  of  founding  a  religious  sect  or  of  establishing 
a  church  :  his  was  a  school  of  philosophy,  and  his  followers 
were  simply  students  who  sat  at  his  feet  and  accepted  his 
system  of  doctrine.  Most  religions  spring  into  existence 
created  by  the  genius  of  some  giant  leader,  but  Taoism 
was  the  growth  of  one  thousand  years,  and  in  its  gradual 
evolution  bears  a  striking  analogy  to  Rome.  Future 
researches  must  reveal  the  rise  and  progress  of  this 
mighty  system  ;  how  a  band  of  scholars  became  adepts 
in  metallurgy,  and  by  degrees  were  developed  into  a 
priestly  craft.  Ancient  China  was  obscured  by  countless 
wild  beliefs,  which  like  scattering  clouds  overshadowed 
the  land ;  these,  Taoism  gathered  together,  embraced 
them  in  her  bosom,  and  thus  became  a  congeries  oi 
superstitions.  The  "  priests  pander  in  every  possible  way 
to  the  superstitions  of  the  people,  and  creeping  into  their 
houses  '  lead  captive  silly  women.'  "  "  Its  mission  is  not 
to  root  out  deadly  errors  or  to  proclaim  precious  truths." 

Plagiarism. — Taoism    is    more    purely    native    than 
Buddhism,  and  is  an  attempt  to  adapt  the  Indian  religion 


laoisni  as  a  Religion.  355 

to  Chinese  civilisation.  As  the  visitor  comes  to  the 
gate  of  a  Taoist  temple  he  sees  two  instead  of  the 
four  guardians ;  in  the  great  hall  they  have  their  trinity, 
the  "  Three  Pure  Ones  ;  "  they  speak  of  the  "  Three 
Precious  Ones,"  "reason,  the  priesthood,  and  the  classics;" 
and  the  Pearly  Emperor  is  in  many  respects  an  ape  of 
Shaky amuni.  The  sacred  books  show  to  what  an  extent 
Taoism  has  plagiarised.  The  sutras  in  form,  in  matter, 
in  style,  in  the  incidents,  in  the  narrative,  in  the  invoca- 
tions, in  the  prayers,  leaving  out  the  Sanscrit,  are  almost 
exact  copies  of  the  Buddhist  prayer-books.  This  goes 
to  prove  the  power  of  Buddhism,  and  also  that  Taoism 
did  not  exchange  the  philosopher's  gown  for  the  priest's 
robe  till  after  it  counterfeited  the  Indian  coin. 

Alchemy — The  ancient  Taoists  "  sought  to  transmute 
the  baser  metals  into  gold  and  silver,  and  to  discover 
the  elixir  of  immortality."  Their  writings  abound  in 
allusions  to  "  spiritual  medicine,"  "  pearly  food,"  and 
"  fountains  of  nectar."  According  to  the  recipe  they 
take  several  hundred  ounces  of  gold  or  silver,  with  red 
colouring  matter,  lead  and  mercury,  put  them  in  a  crucible 
with  steady  fire,  and  on  the  forty-ninth  day  they  will 
amalgamate  ;  then  dipping  with  a  ladle  and  rolling 
around  in  a  waiter,  it  rolls  into  pills.  In  the  time  of 
poverty  one  of  these  pills  put  into  lead  or  mercury  will 
transmute  the  whole  into  gold  or  silver,  but  after  500 
years  it  loses  its  virtue,  and  all  who  hold  the  spurious 
coin  will  ''  eat  bitterness." 

There  is  another  kind  called  the  "gold  elixir,"  a 
mixture  of  stone  and  metals,  the  extract  to  be  eaten  dry 
and   hot.     Some   of  the   emperors  of  the   Han   dynasty. 


35^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

being  desirous  of  immortality,  ate  too  much,  had 
carbuncles,  and  were  buried  in  the  Imperial  tombs. 

To  become  an  Immortal — Instead  of  the  Western 
Paradise  of  the  Buddhist,  Taoism  offers  immortality  to 
its  followers.  They  call  it  the  nay  tan,  or  internal 
elixir,  and  in  its  formation  use  the  "three  precious 
things  "  in  the  body  of  a  man — the  fecundating  fluid, 
the  breath,  and  the  saliva ;  the  first  to  be  drawn  upward, 
the  second  to  be  inhaled  more  than  exhaled,  and  the 
third  to  be  swallowed.  The  first  unites  with  the  breath, 
the  breath  unites  with  the  saliva,  and  these  three  form 
an  invisible  boy  in  the  body  of  a  man.  This  immaterial 
child  grows  larger  and  larger,  and  may  go  out  of  the 
body  and  return  again  to  its  home,  but  it  needs  to  be 
protected,  as  it  is  liable  to  be  devoured  by  devils  and 
hobgoblins.  When  the  young  spiritual  Chinaman  be- 
comes as  large  as  the  man's  body,  it  can  tarry  on  the 
earth  or  depart  to  the  better  land  at  pleasure ;  if  the 
latter,  it  goes  like  the  cicada,  leaving  its  shell,  and  is  a 
heavenly  immortal ;  if  it  wishes  to  remain  in  the  world, 
it  becomes  one  of  the  earth  genii  and  lives  for  ever. 

The  Great  Extreme.— One  of  the  most  familiar 
objects  seen  everywhere  in  picture  and  engraving  is 
the  Great  Monad,  the  "  ovum  mundi."  The  philosopher 
Choofootsze  thus  speaks  of  it :  "  The  great  extreme  is 
merely  the  immaterial  principle ;  it  is  found  in  the  male 
and  female  principles  of  nature,  in  the  five  elements,  in 
all  things.  .  .  .  From  the  time  the  great  extreme  came 
into  operation,  all  things  were  produced  by  transforma- 
tion. .  .  .  The  great  extreme  has  neither  residence,  nor 
form,  nor  place,  which    vou    can    assign   to   it.     If  you 


Taoism  as  a  Religion.  357 

speak  of  it  before  its  development,  then  previous  to 
that  emanation  it  was  perfect  stillness ;  motion  and  rest, 
with  the  male  and  female  principles  of  nature,  are  only 
the  descent  and  embodiment  of  this  principle.  ...  It 
is  the  immaterial  principle  of  the  two  powers,  the  four 
forms,  and  eight  changes  of  nature  ;  we  cannot  say  that 
it  does  not  exist,  and  yet  no  form  or  corporeity  can  be 
ascribed  to  it.  .  .  .  It  produced  one  male  and  one  female 
principle  of  nature,  which  are  called  the  dual  powers. 
But  from  the  time  of  Con- 
fucius, no  one  has  been  able 
to  get  hold  of  this  idea  " — 
and,  it  might  be  added,  no 
one  ever  will.  This  simple 
cut  presents  Chinese  cos- 
mogony in  a  nutshell. 

The  great  monad   is   di- 
vided   into    the    dark    and 

liffht,  with  a  white  eve  in 

^      '  -  The  Great  Monad. 

the  dark,  and  a  black  eye  in 

the  light.     These  white  and  black  spots  show  there  is  a 

male  germ  in  the  female  principle,  and  a  female  germ  in 

the  male  principle.     Heaven  and  earth,  the  sun  and  moon, 

light  and  darkness,  hard  and  soft,  are  used  as  illustrations  of 

these  inverse  powers.     This  dualistic  principle,  the  male 

and  female  principles  of  nature,  by  which  all  things  are 

produced,  forms  the  basis  of  Chinese  philosophy,  science, 

and  religion  ;  it  is  the  warp  and  woof  of  Chinese  thought, 

teaching,  and   literature.     Let  us  see   its  application  to 

polytheism. 

Yin  and  Yang — Yang  is  the  male  and  Yin  the  female 


35?         The  Dragon,  Image ,  and  Demon, 

principle  of  nature.  This  world  is  Yang^  and  Hades  Yin. 
Nothing  more  fully  shows  the  materialistic  views  of  the 
Chinese  than  their  arrangement  of  the  invisible  world; 
the  world  of  spirits  is  an  exact  counterpart  of  the  Chinese 
Empire,  or,  as  has  been  remarked,  it  is  "  China  ploughed 
under ;  "  this  is  the  world  of  light,  put  out  the  lights  and 
you  have  Tartarus.  China  has  eighteen  provinces,  so  has 
Hades  ;  each  province  has  eight  or  nine  prefects,  or 
departments  ;  so  each  province  in  Hades  has  eight  or  nine 
departments  ;  every  prefect  or  department  averages  ten 
counties,  so  every  department  in  Hades  has  ten  counties. 
In  Soochow  the  Governor,  the  provincial  Treasurer,  the 
Criminal  Judge,  the  Imperial  Tailor,  the  Prefect  or 
Departmental  Governor,  and  the  three  District  Magistrates 
or  County  Governors,  each  have  temples,  with  their 
apotheoses  in  the  other  world.  Not  only  these,  but  every 
Yamen,  secretary,  runner,  executioner,  policeman,  and 
constable  has  his  counterpart  in  the  land  of  darkness.  The 
market-towns  have  also  mandarins  of  lesser  rank  in  charge, 
besides  a  host  of  revenue  collectors,  the  bureau  of  govern- 
ment works  and  other  departments,  with  several  hundred 
thousand  officials,  who  all  rank  as  gods  beyond  the  grave. 
These  deities  are  civilians  ;  the  military  having  a  similar 
gradation  for  the  armies  of  Hades,  whose  captains  are 
gods,  and  whose  battalions  are  devils. 

"  The  framers  of  this  wonderful  scheme  for  the  spirits 
of  the  dead,  having  no  higher  standard,  transferred  to  the 
authorities  of  that  world  the  etiquette,  tastes,  and  venality 
of  their  correlate  officials  in  the  Chinese  government, 
thus  making  it  necessary  to  use  similar  means  to  appease 
the    one  which  are  found    necessary  to  move  the  other. 


Taois7n  as  a  Religion.  359 

AH  the  State  gods  have  their  assistants,  attendants,  door- 
keepers, runners,  horses,  horsemen,  detectives,  and 
executioners,  corresponding  in  every  particular  to  those 
of  Chinese  officials  of  the  same  rank." 

It  will  not  do  for  the  governor  of  the  province  to 
worship  the  god  of  the  prefect  or  department,  for  the 
governor  ranks  higher  than  the  god,  so  at  the  new  and 
full  moon  he  only  worships  the  governor  of  Hades.  Also 
the  prefect  cannot  worship  the  city  god  of  the  county- 
seat,  for  he  is  a  greater  man  than  this  god.  The  governors 
in  Hades  rule  over  the  prefects,  who  control  the  county 
governors,  by  whom  the  precinct  deities  are  ruled ;  these 
are  all  gods,  w^orshipped  in  the  same  way,  but  one  god 
differs  from  another  god  in  glory.  Except  the  few  Indian 
deities,  all  the  gods  are  Chinamen. 

The  Manichaeans. — The  doctrine  of  the  dual  principle 
of  nature  is  Asiatic,  and  we  do  not  know  whether  the 
Chinese  obtained  it  from  the  Persians  or  vice,  versa.  It 
troubled  the  ancient  Church.  According  to  Mosheim, 
"  Manes,  educated  among  the  ]Magi  and  himself  one  of 
that  number,  instructed  in  all  those  arts  and  sciences 
which  the  Persians  and  the  neighbouring  nations  held 
in  the  highest  esteem,  was  so  adventurous  as  to  attempt 
an  amalgamation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  ]Magi  with  the 
Christian  system.  .  .  .  He  taught,  "  There  are  two  princi- 
ples from  which  all  things  proceed  :  the  one  is  a  most 
pure  and  subtile  matter,  called  Light ;  and  the  other  a 
gross  and  corrupt  substance,  called  Darkness.  Both  are 
subject  to  the  dominion  of  a  superintending  being,  whose 
existence  is  from  all  eternity.  .  .  .  These  two  beings 
have  produced   an    immense  multitude  of    creatures,  re- 


360         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

sembling  themselves,  and  distributed  them  through  their 
respective  provinces.  The  prince  of  darkness  knew  not, 
for  a  long  series  of  ages,  that  light  existed  in  the 
universe;  and  he  no  sooner  perceived  it,  by  the  means 
of  a  war  that  was  kindled  in  his  dominions,  than  he 
bent  his  endeavours  toward  the  subjection  of  it  to  his 
empire.  The  ruler  of  the  light  opposed  to  his  efforts  an 
army.  .  .  .  The  prince  of  darkness,  after  his  defeat, 
produced  the  first  parents  of  the  human  race.  The  beings 
engendered  from  this  original  stock  consist  of  a  body 
formed  out  of  the  corrupt  matter  of  the  kingdom  of 
darkness,  and  of  two  soids^  one  of  which  is  sensuous  and 
lustful  .  .  .  the  other  rational  and  immortal,  a  particle 
of  that  divine  light  w^hich  was  carried  away  by  the  army 
of  darkness,  and  immersed  into  the  mass  of  malignant 
matter.  Mankind  being  thus  formed  by  the  prince  of 
darkness,  and  those  minds  which  were  the  productions  of 
the  eternal  light  being  united  to  their  mortal  bodies, 
God  created  the  earth  out  of  the  corrupt  mass  of 
matter." 

The  Manichseans  held  to  transmigration :  "  Those 
souls  who  have  neglected  the  salutary  work  of  their 
purification  pass,  after  death,  into  the  bodies  of  animals, 
or  other  natures,  where  they  remain  until  they  have 
expiated  their   guilt  and  accomplished  their  probation." 

Rotation. — Chinese  mandarins  rotate  in  office,  generally 
every  three  years,  and  then  there  is  a  corresponding  change 
in  Hades.  The  image  in  the  temple  remains  the  same, 
but  the  spirit  which  dwells  in  the  clay  tabernacle  changes, 
so  the  idol  has  a  different  name,  birthday,  and  tenant. 
The    priests  are   informed  by  the    Great  Wizard  of  the 


Taoism  as  a  Religion.  361 

Dragon  Tiger  Mountain,    but  how  can  the  people  know 
gods  which  are  not  the  same  to-day  as  yesterday  ? 

The  gods  have  Sin — Men  have  sins,  and  why  should 
not  the  gods  ?  The  mandarins  lose  their  official  buttons 
when  any  disturbance  occurs  within  their  territory,  so  if 
the  gods  do  not  direct  aright  the  affairs  of  the  upper  world 
they  deserve  removal  from  authority.  It  is  the  right  of 
some  of  the  chief  priests  of  Taoism  to  judge  the  gods, 
and  to  pass  sentence  when  they  permit  calamities  or 
pestilence  to  visit  their  terrestrial  domains. 

The  gods  may  marry. — An  old  lady  who  was  known 
to  be  a  pious  devotee  died  some  years  ago  in  Soochow, 
and  her  friends  thought  it  would  be  very  appropriate  for 
her  to  be  a  goddess.  The  priests  kindly  consented  to  act 
as  go-betweens,  and  by  their  ability  to  communicate  with 
the  other  world  they  found  out  that  the  god  of  diarrhoea 
wanted  a  bride.  The  old  lady  had  been  coffined  and  her 
remains  placed  in  the  tomb,  but  by  means  of  paper 
figures,  and  a  paper  bridal  chair,  the  ceremonies  were 
conducted  just  as  if  she  were  ''  sweet  sixteen,"  the  priests 
receiving  the  usual  clergyman's  fee. 

Promotion. — Chinese  mandarins  are  promoted  for 
distinguished  services,  and  have  new  buttons  given  to 
them  ;  so  the  gods  may  rise  from  an  humble  position  to 
one  near  the  Pearly  Emperor,  who  gives  them  the 
reward  of  merit  for  ruling  well  the  affairs  of  men. 
"  The  correlate  deities  of  the  mandarins  are  only  of  equal 
rank,  yet  the  fact  that  they  have  been  apotheosized 
makes  them  their  superiors  and  fit  objects  of  worship." 

The  gods  of  State. — These  are  all  distinguished  states- 
men or  warriors.     The  people  say,  "  How  can  the  Emperor 


362         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

obtain  faithful  ministers  unless  they  have  the  hope  of 
promotion  after  death  ?  "  The  practical  objection  to  the 
unity  of  Jehovah  is  that  "  He  has  not  time  to  attend  to 
minor  affairs,"  and  so  must  be  assisted  by  a  host  of  the 
dei  minores.  No  high  mandarin  of  renown,  or  member 
of  the  royal  family,  even  if  it  be  a  prince  who  has  not 
attained  his  majority,  dies  without  receiving  office  in 
the  spirit  world.  Of  this  great  host  of  worthies,  number- 
ing ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  who  are  the 
tutelary  divinities  of  certain  localities,  no  notice  can  be 
taken  in  this  work.  The  gods  of  each  city  must  be  the 
special  study  of  the  resident  missionary.  The  State  gods 
are  continually  increasing,  for  as  the  graves  of  earth  are 
filling  so  are  the  palaces  of  the  gods,  yet  the  number 
decreases,  for  many  gods  "  have  their  day ;  "  they  rise, 
flourish,  and  fade  away,  "  neither  have  they  any  more  a 
reward,  for  the  memory  of  them  is  forgotten." 

Appointing  gods. — This  rests  nominally  with  the 
"Ancient  Original,"  the  central  and  highest  of  the  "  Three 
Pure  Ones,"  but  as  that  is  indefinite,  the  nomination  is 
made  by  the  Emperor  through  Chang,  the  Heavenly 
Teacher,  who  is  the  Oreat  Wizard,  and  whose  duty  it  is 
to  furnish  the  credentials  and  assign  a  temple ;  pro- 
fessedly the  appointment  is  made  by  the  chief  of  the 
"  Three  Pure  Ones,"  but  actually  by  the  Emperor  and 
Pope  Chang.  There  is  a  Yin  and  a  Ycmg  appointment, 
so  that  the  god  may  receive  the  sacrifices  of  a  certain 
section  of  Chinese  territory.  In  popular  parlance  the 
Emperor  appoints  the  gods,  which  is  the  fact,  as  the 
other  is  a  mere  sham  !  From  ancient  times,  "  wherever 
popular  sentiment  seemed   to   indicate,   a  new   god  was 


Taoism  as  a  Religion.  363 

provided,  either  by  the  deification  of  a  hero,  or  the  per- 
sonification of  a  principle."  It  will  be  noted  that  there 
is  only  a  short  step  from  a  great  man  to  a  little  god  ; 
the  difference  being  almost  as  imperceptible  as  it  is  in 
North  China  between  a  large  donkey  and  a  small  mule. 
The  canonisation  is  wholesale. 

What  a  claim  for  the  Emperor  of  the  Celestials  !  Not 
only  that  he  is  the  sovereign  of  four  hundred  millions, 
but  that  he  is  king  of  the  gods ;  yea,  they  are  constituted 
by  him  and  derive  their  power  from  him.  As  of  Moab 
it  may  be  said,  "  We  have  heard  the  pride  of  China  (he 
is  exceeding  proud),  his  loftiness  and  his  arrogancy  and 
his  pride,  and  the  haughtiness  of  his  heart." 

The  Three  Periods — In  Chinese  mythology  there 
are  three  periods  when  gods  were  appointed  by  the  ship- 
load. The  first  was  in  the  time  of  the  ancient  Emperor, 
Hien  Yuen,  whom  Confucius  did  not  regard  as  an  his- 
torical individual.  The  second,  the  twelfth  century  B.C., 
in  the  time  of  Kiang  T'aikung,  who  deified  the  heroes 
that  fell  by  his  sword.  The  third,  the  fourteenth 
century  A.D.,  when  the  first  Emperor  of  the  Ming 
dynasty  appointed  a  multitude  of  city  gods,  and  thus 
expanded  the  india-rubber  system.  Thus  ''an  ideal 
universe  has   been  peopled  with    a  race  of  ideal  gods." 

The  Thirteen  Boards. — The  English  language  fails 
in  furnishing  a  nomenclature  for  the  Chinese  Pantheon. 
This  polytheistic  people,  not  satisfied  with  having  one 
god  for  every  separate  thing,  have  devised  a  system  by 
which  there  are  several  gods  ruling  in  the  same  sphere, 
whose  special  powers  and  duties  it  is  impossible  for  a 
foreigner   to    distinguish  or    separate.     In   Peking  there 


364         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 

are  the  six  boards  of  the  government ;  in  Heaven  the 
Taoists  have  made  the  number  thirteen.  1,  Board  of 
Thunder ;  2,  Board  of  Fire ;  3,  Board  of  Riches ;  4, 
Board  of  Pestilence  ;  5,  Board  of  Small-pox  ;  6,  Board  of 
the  Pole  Star ;  7,  Board  of  the  North  and  South  Stars  ; 
8,  Board  of  all  Stars ;  9,  Board  of  all  gods ;  10,  Board  of 
Age;  11,  Board  of  the  Malignant  Stars  in  Heaven;  12, 
Board  of  the  Malignant  Stars  on  Earth;  13,  Board  of  the 
Tsu-su  P'usa. 

The  Taoist  Creation. — "  As  Shakyamuni  Buddha  was 
the  first  Buddhist  image  to  be  worshipped,  so  it  will 
appear  that  Laotsze's  image  was  the  first  Taoist  idol." 
What  were  the  creative  acts  of  Laotsze  ?  The  Taoists  say, 
"  At  one  afflatus  he  transformed  '  The  Three  Pure  Ones.' " 
Laotsze,  the  third  person  in  the  trinity,  "  Created  the 
Ancient  Original  and  the  Spiritual  Precious."  Laotsze, 
preaching  to  the  "  assembly  of  the  gods,"  said,  "  Before 
chaos  I  created  all  things  ;  I  begat  heaven  and  earth, 
and  I  carried  the  female  principle  on  my  back  and  the 
male  principle  in  my  arms.  The  male  air  went  up  and 
begat  heaven,  and  the  female  air  descended  and  begat 
earth.  The  remainder  "  of  the  male  air  was  changed  into 
man,  and  the  remainder  of  the  female  air  was  changed 
into  woman.  The  two  kinds  of  air  by  their  own  power 
changed  into  all  things." 

In  other  books  the  creation  of  man  is  ascribed  to  the 
Eastern  Emperor  Kung  and  the  Western  Royal  Mother. 
At  the  dividing  of  heaven  and  earth  there  came  first  the 
Primary  Man  from  beyond  the  heavens,  and  seeing  on 
earth  that  there  were  no  men,  from  his  hand  went  forth 
five    thunderbolts    summoning    the   deities   of    the    five 


Taoism  as  a  Religion,  365 

regions.  Earth,  Wood,  Fire,  and  Water  came,  and  last  of 
all  the  Golden  Mother  riding  on  a  fire-coloured  cloud,  who 
told  him  she  was  asleep  in  a  cloud  when  she  heard  his 
thunder  summons.  The  Primary  Man  said  to  the  Golden 
Mother  and  Duke  Wood,  "  You  two  represent  the  male 
and  female  principles ;  on  earth  there  are  no  men  ;  you 
create."  He  gave  them  a  heavenly  furnace  ;  the  Golden 
Mother  took  a  ball  of  clay  and  put  it  into  the  furnace  ; 
Duke  Wood  used  dragon  thunder,  and  fanned  the  flame 
for  seven  days ;  then  cracked  open  the  ball,  and  from  it  a 
boy  and  girl  leaped  forth,  and  at  one  breath  of  the  wind 
they  in  an  instant  became  a  man  and  a  woman,  and  so 
men  were  created  upon  the  earth. 

Variety  Temples.— The  name  of  a  temple  is  not 
always  an  indication  of  the  god  which  is  there  worshipped, 
for  the  priests  add  one  image  after  another,  and  one 
shrine  after  another  so  that  they  may  accommodate  any 
worshipper,  — as  the  sign  to  a  country  store,  "  Dry  goods, 
groceries,  boots,  shoes,  drugs,  clothing,  crockery,  harness, 
and  general  merchandise.''  Sometimes  in  one  temple 
there  are  the  Buddhas,  the  goddess  of  Mercy,  the  Three 
Mandarins,  Amita,  the  Coming  Buddha,  the  Bushel 
Mother,  the  Snake-god,  the  gods  of  Fire  and  Thunder, 
the  god  of  Hades  ;  in  all,  twenty  or  thirty  divinities. 

To  Escape  the  Metempsychosis. — In  the  city 
temples  there  is  a  room  full  of  the  tablets  of  those  who 
for  a  series  of  years  served  in  the  procession  of  the  god. 
At  the  death  of  one  of  them  a  feast  is  given  by  his  son  to 
the  priests,  his  tablet  is  presented  before  the  god,  the 
attendants  give  three  whoops,  and  the  spirit-tablet  is 
whisked  into  the  room.     The  deceased  thus  becomes  a 


366  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Yamen  runner  to  the  god  in  the  other  world,  and  is 
excused  from  transmigration. 

Religious  Services  for  the  Living — The  Tang  tsiao 
are  religious  services  performed  for  the  dead,  as  the  "  All 
Souls'  festival,"  but  more  frequently  for  the  living,  the 
form  and  style  of  the  worship  being  much  the  same  in 
both  cases.  Often  it  is  the  "  great  peace  service  ; "  a 
number  of  country  villages  will  send  up  deputies  to  join 
with  the  priests  in  solemn  worship  during  several  days,  to 
secure  tranquillity  and  abundant  harvests,  the  expenses 
being  defrayed  by  subscription.  Again,  it  will  be  a 
sacrifice  to  the  god  of  thunder,  to  protect  the  waving 
fields  of  grain,  in  which  the  bakers  and  restaurant  cooks 
unite.  Most  frequently  it  is  to  the  god  of  fire,  the  con- 
stable of  the  ward  seeing  to  the  worship,  and  sticking  up 
the  two  characters  tsai  hja  on  the  doors  of  contributors  ; 
after  a  conflagration,  those  who  have  escaped  the  devour- 
ing element  join  in  a  "  protecting  peace  service." 
Families  often  have  a  private  service  with  a  couple  of 
abbots,  and  seven  or  nine  priests  ;  in  the  day  they  burn 
charms  to  invite  the  gods  to  be  present,  and  at  night  the 
souls  of  the  priests  are  said  to  behold  Shangte. 

The  Fairy  Crane. — This  paper  crane  is  used  at 
funerals,  images  of  it  being  carried  in  front  of  a  proces- 
sion of  priests,  with  the  abbot  in  a  chair,  and  when  burnt 
it  is  supposed  that  the  departed  soul  rides  to  Heaven  on 
the  back  of  the  winged  messenger. 

The  fairy  crane  is  also  used  in  services  for  the 
living,  when  it  is  placed  on  a  table  and  carried  before 
the  image  of  the  Pearly  Emperor ;  the  "  bill  of  for- 
giveness "  is   read   by  the  priests,  then  both  the  cranes 


CD 


368         The  Dragon,  linage,  and  Demon. 


and  the  document  are  burned,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
the  crane  flies  to  the  skies  with  the  written  proof  that 
the  man's  sins  are  all  forgiven. 

Sale  of  Indulgences. — The  Taoists  have  ''bills  of 
forgiveness "  already  printed,  which  are  sold  at  their 
"  great  peace  services ;  "  the  abbot  reads,  burns,  and  pro- 
nounces absolution  of  all  past  guilt. 

Forgiveness  Hair-pin.— Old  women  wear  a  "  forgive- 
ness hair-pin,"  which  is  made  on  "  forgiveness-day  ;  "  this 
"  forgiveness-day  "  is  only  one  day  in  the  year,  and  is 
indicated  by  the  almanac. 

Worshipping  Heaven — This  is  one  of  the  Taoist 
services  {tang  tsiao)  for  the  living.  A  large  feast  with  a 
variety  of  fruits  and  cakes  is  prepared  ;  also  two  hundred 
copper  cash,  and  pictures  of  the  Buddhas  of  the  Three 
Ages  and  the  thirty-six  ministers  of  Heaven  ;  the  priests 
read  the  "  bills  of  forgiveness,"  the  feast  is  given  to  the 
children,  and  the  cash  hung  as  charms  around  their  necks. 

Bribery  in  Worship.— Bribery  is  an  integral  part  of 
the  government  of  China ;  in  the  appointment  of  man- 
darins, in  the  distribution  of  offices,  and  in  the  halls  of 
justice,  money  is  the  ruling  power.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible for  materialistic  pagans  to  have  any  other  view  of 
the  world  to  come  than  that  the  gods  are  venal.  The 
money  sent  to  dead  friends  is  to  enable  them  to  obtain 
favours  from  the  Yamen  runners  of  Hades.  A  striking 
instance  is  w^hen  large  quantities  of  paper  sycee  are  sent 
through  the  provincial  treasurer  in  the  temple  to  the 
Pearly  Emperor,  the  donor  hoping  for  a  quantity  of  silver 
to  be  given  in  return,  just  as  gold  is  given  to  the  Emperor 
(or  to  the  boards)  in  order  to  obtain  office. 


Taoism  as  a  Religion,  369 


Dreams — The  Chinese,  like  all  other  superstitious 
races,  believe  in  dreams.  For  example,  to  dream  that 
a  person  is  dead  is  a  sure  sign  that  he  has  either  left 
the  world  or  soon  will  depart.  In  dreams  they  consider 
that  the  soul  goes  out  on  a  nightly  ramble,  even  to  a 
foreign  land,  and  sees  and  hears  what  seems  so  plain. 
The  black-haired  race  locate  knowledge  and  the  faculties 
of  thought  in  the  large  central  part  of  the  body,  but  with 
a  marked  inconsistency  all  their  pictures  of  dreams 
represent  the  vision  as  entering  the  top  of  the  head.  In 
ancient  times  answers  to  dreams  were  sought  by  divina- 
tion ;  now  they  "  pray  for  a  dream,"  as  it  is  said  at 
Hangchow — in  a  temple  in  honour  of  General  Yii  of  the 
Ming  dynasty — a  man  goes  to  the  temple,  sleeps  all 
night,  and  asks  for  a  vision  to  be  given  him. 

There  is  a  proverb, 

"  As  the  thoughts  of  daylight, 
So  are  the  dreams  of  night." 

Tree  of  the  Rewards  of  Good  and  Evil In  the 

city  of  Fungtu  there  is  a  precious  tree.  Just  before  the 
return  of  the  soul  to  this  earth  three  bows  and  three 
arrows  are  placed  in  its  hands.  If  the  soul  shoots  the 
eastern  branches  of  the  tree  the  man  will  be  a  Minister 
of  State  or  great  mandarin ;  if  the  southern  branches,  he 
will  live  long  and  have  a  strong  body  ;  if  the  western 
branches,  he  will  have  riches  and  honour.  If  he  always 
worships  the  "  Three  Precious  Ones,"  is  charitable, 
chants,  and  does  meritorious  acts  for  three  generations, 
he  will  immediately  return  to  be  a  man,  the  governor  of 
the  city  will  give  him  an  arrow,  and  one  of  the  "  Three 

24 


370         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


Pure  Ones  "  will  help  him,  so  that  he  will  not  shoot  the 
northern  branches. 

The  Abacus — In  the  city  temples  there  hangs  a  great 
abacus  ;  in  the  shops  the  abacus  is  used  in  the  computa- 
tion of  the  millions  of  greasy  copper  cci8h  (filthy  lucre), 
but  in  the  other  world  it  tells  of  a  reckoning  of  the  good 
and  the  evil,  with  their  attendant  awards  and  punish- 
ments.    It  is  a  sermon  in  wood. 

The  Tail-cutting  Mania. — Taoism  is  a  system  fraught 
with  danger  to  the  State  for  the  reason  that  its  whole 
structure   is   superstition.      It   is   best   illustrated    by   a 


The  Abacus. 

wide-spread  delusion  in  1877.  The  wave  passed  down 
the  Grand  Canal.  It  was  said  that  parties  mysteriously 
lost  their  pig-tails  as  they  walked  along  the  street, 
caused  by  paper-men  flying  about,  and  what  so  precious 
to  a  Chinaman  as  the  national  badge,  the  queue!  The 
peasants  forsook  their  houses  and  slept  in  the  fields 
or  under  the  trees,  fifty  or  one  hundred  in  a  group. 
Grongs  had  to  be  imported,  and  all  night  long  in  every 
hamlet,  was  bang,  bang,  bang!  Processions  with  lanterns, 
torches,  and  voices  passed  from  village  to  village.  Aftei 
wards  it  was  said  the  paper-men  could  come  in  through 


Taoism  as  a  Religion.  ^il^ 

the  roof,  expand  to  the  size  of  a  cow,  and  crush  the 
sleeper  [evidently  nightmare].  In  town  men  kept  to 
the  streets  all  night  long,  as  they  were  afraid  to  enter 
their  homes,  and  the  heat,  the  fright,  the  demorali- 
zation, the  excitement,  and  the  wild  rumours  made  the 
city  like  a  boiling  caldron.  Three  Catholics,  innocent 
fishermen,  were  accused  of  having  been  seen  sending 
off  paper-men,  and  were  beheaded. 

One  night  the  excitement  ran  high,  for  it  was  reported 
through  the  city  that  two  foreigners  (the  writer  and  a 
friend)  were  on  a  temple-roof  despatching  paper-men. 
Tens  of  thousands  assembled,  an  excited  mob ;  gongs 
were  beaten,  and  the  crowd  would  yell,  trying  to  drive 
away  the  men  who  were  about  to  slay  all  in  the  city.  Two 
companies  of  military  were  marched  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  camp  and  fired  blank  cartridges,  all  afraid  to 
injure  the  "  foreign  devils  "  (who  happened  to  be  absent 
from  town),  lest  a  shower  of  paper-men  might  fall  like 
meteoric  stones.  After  two  hours  it  was  found  to  be  the 
shadows  of  the  trees  on  the  roof  in  the  moonlight. 

During  the  two  months  of  summer  that  this  panic 
swept  through  Central  China,  Taoist  priests  were  busy 
selling  genii  jponjdei\  which  in  little  packages  placed 
in  the  queue  was  a  charm  to  frighten  away  the  paper- 
men.  The  superstitions  of  Taoism  make  the  Chinese 
mind  as  tinder  for  the  spark,  just  as  an  August  sun 
prepares  a  prairie  for  the  wild-fire. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

POPES,    PRIESTS,   AND   TEMPLES. 

The  First  Pope.— The  first  Taoist  pope  was  Chang 
Taoling,  who  flourished  in  the  first  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  "  Devoting  himself  wholly  to  study  and  medi- 
tation, he  steadfastly  declined  the  offers  made  him  by 
emperors,  who  wished  to  attract  him  into  the  service 
of  the  State.  Retiring  to  seclusion  in  the  mountain 
fastnesses  of  Western  China,  he  persevered  in  the  study 
of  alchemy  and  in  cultivating  the  virtues  of  purity  and 
mental  abstraction.  His  search  for  the  elixir  of  life  was 
successful,  thanks  to  the  instruction  conveyed  in  a  mystic 
treatise  supernaturally  received  from  the  hands  of  Laotsze 
himself." 

He  was  engaged  in  manipulating  "  the  elixir  of  the 
dragon  and  tiger,"  when  he  met  a  spirit  who  said,  "  In 
the  Pesung  Mountain  is  a  stone  house,  where  may  be 
found  writings  of  the  three  emperors  and  a  liturgical 
book.  By  getting  these  you  may  ascend  to  Heaven,  if 
you  pass  through  the  course  of  discipline  which  they 
enjoin."  "  He  dug  and  found  them.  By  means  of  them 
he  was  able  to  fly,  to  hear  distant  sounds,  and  to  leave  his 
body.  After  going  through  a  thousand  days  of  discipline, 
and    receiving   instruction  from    a  goddess,    who  taught 


Popes,  Pi'iests,  and  Temples.  373 


him  to  walk  about  among  the  stars,  he  proceeded  to  fight 
with  the  king  of  the  demons,  to  divide  mountains  and 
seas,  and  to  command  the  wind"  and  thunder.  All  the 
demons  fled  before  him,  leaving  not  a  trace  of  their 
retreating  footsteps.  On  account  of  the  prodigious 
slaughter  of  demons  by  this  hero,  the  wind  and  thunder 
were  reduced  to  subjection,  and  various  divinities  came 


Chang  Taoliiisr. 

with  eager  haste  to  acknowledge  their  faults.  In  nine 
years  he  gained  the  power  to  ascend  to  Heaven." 

"  The  later  years  of  the  mystic's  earthly  experience 
were  spent  on  the  Dragon-Tiger  Mountain,  and  it  was 
here,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three,  after 
compounding  and  swallowing  the  grand  elixir,  he  ascended 
to  the  heavens  to  enjoy  the  bliss  of  immortality." 

The  Heavenly  Teacher.-— The  name  of  Chang,  the 


374         '^^^  Dragon,   Image,  and  Demon. 


Heavenly  Teacher,  is  on  every  lip  in  China;  he  is  on 
earth  the  Vicegerent  of  the  Pearly  Emperor  in  Heaven, 
and  the  Co oamander-in-chief  of  the  hosts  of  Taoism. 
Whatever  doubts  there  may  be  about  Peter's  apostolic 
successors,  the  present  Pope,  Chang  LX.,  boasts  of  an 
unbroken  line  for  threescore  generations.  He,  the  chief 
of  the  wizards,  the  "true  man"  (i.e.,  "the  ideal  man"), 
as  he  is  called,  wields  an  immense  spiritual  power 
throughout  the  land.  The  family  obtained  possession 
of  the  Dragon-Tiger  Mountain  in  the  Kiangse  province 
about  A.D.  1000,  and  the  scenery  around  Pope  Chang's 
rural  palace  is  most  enchanting.  The  present  incumbent 
is  a  fat  jolly  mandarin,  who  lives  in  pomp  and  luxury ;  it 
is  said  that  he  is  not  a  celibate,  and  he  has  about  "  thirty 
persons  constituting  his  courtiers  and  high  officers." 
"This  personage  assumes  a  state  which  mimics  the 
Imperial  regmie.  He  confers  buttons  like  an  emperor. 
Priests  come  to  him  from  various  cities  and  temples 
to  receive  promotion,  whom  he  invests  with  titles  and 
presents   with  seals  of  office." 

His  power  is  fourfold.  (1)  He  is  the  head  of  a  priestly 
army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  (2)  He  controls 
the  invisible  hosts  of  demons,  and  is  often  summoned  by 
emperors  and  men  of  countless  wealth  to  rid  their  houses 
of  these  troublesome  intruders.  "  To  expel  demons  he 
wields  the  double-edged  sword,  which  is  said  to  have 
come  down,  a  priceless  heir-loom,  from  his  ancestors  of 
the  Han  dynasty.  All  demons  fear  this  sword.  He 
who  wields  it,  the  great  Taoist  magician,  can  catch 
demons  and  shut  them  up  in  jars.  It  is  said  that 
near  his  home  there  are  rows  of  such  jars,   all  of  them 


Popes,  Priests,  and   Temples. 


375 


supposed  to  hold  demons  in  captivity."  (3)  The  appoint- 
ment of  gods  by  the  Emperor  is  made  through  '*  the 
Heavenly  Teacher,"  and  the  rotation  of  the  gods  in 
office  is  done  by  him  like  shifting  men  on  a  chess 
board.      (4)  But    his    chief    prerogative    is    in    granting 

An  Audience  to  the  Gods. — On  the  first  day  of  the 
moon  the  one  thousand  officials  in  a  provincial  capital, 
whether  in  office  or  out  of  office, 
call  on  His  Excellency  the  Governor 
to  pay  their  respects,  so  at  the  first 
of  the  month  Pope  Chang  holds  a 
levee  of  the  gods.  From  the  heights 
of  Heaven,  from  the  depths  of  Hades, 
from  across  the  wide  ocean  and  the 
distant  palaces  of  the  stars,  come 
an  invisible  host  of  deified  beings, 
gods  and  demigods,  to  present  their 
compliments  to  the  great  magician. 

The  Priests  of  Taoism The 

Taoist  priests  wear  blue  robes,  while 
the  Buddhists  wear  yellow.  They 
have  not  shaven  pates,  but  do  their 
hair  up  in  a  little  knot,  and  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  "  yellow 

caps."  There  are  two  classes  of  these  priests,  the  one 
living  in  the  temples  and  professing  celibacy,  the  other 
dwelling  at  home  with  their  families,  and  wearing  the 
citizen's  dress  except  when  on  duty.  They  have  not 
the  zeal  of  the  Buddhists  (if  it  be  possible  to  have 
less),  are  not  employed  in  daily  temple  worship,  and 
deal  mostly  with  evil  spirits  and  quack  medicines,  which 


Taoist  Priest. 


2^"]^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


makes    them   deserve    the    appellation,    "  a  dirty  set    of 
fellows." 

The  Abbot. — The  robes  of  the  abbot  are  of  the 
richest  gold  embroidery,  which  make  him  conspicuous  as 
the  chief  priest.  The  ranks  are  conferred  by  Chang,  the 
Heavenly  Teacher,  and  are  three  in  number — the  Major 

General  or  Bishop,  "  the  Praise 
Church,"  or  Priest,  and  ^'  the 
Knowing-Affairs,"  or  Deacon. 
In  a  Foo,  or  Prefecture,  there 
is  a  nominal  ruler  over  the 
priests  in  his  department,  who 
is  responsible  to  the  civil 
magistrate  for  their  good  be- 
haviour. 

The  City  Temple,  Soo- 
chow. — This  is  the  only  three- 
story  temple  that  I  have  met 
with  ;  the  temples  usually 
are  only  on  the  ground  floor, 
and  the  monasteries  of  two 
stories.  It  was  recently  re- 
paired at  an  expense  of  $40,000 
by  the  late  banker  Hu  of 
Hangchow,  but  his  failure 
left  the  images  simply  dry  mud  instead  of  covered  with 
gold.  The  city  temple  (Yuen  Miao-Kwan)  is  a  great 
temple,  surrounded  by  thirteen  large  temples,  in  which 
there  are  about  three  hundred  gods,  the  great  religious 
centre  of  the  Kiangsu  province;  the  Pearly  Emperor 
occupying  the  third  story,  which  overlooks  the  city. 


Taoist  Abbot. 


Popes,  Priests,  and  Temples. 


2>77 


In  front  is  an  open  court  of  two  acres,  on  the  sides  of 
which  are  stalls  and  shops,  and  in  the  middle  arbours 
made  of  matting  for  tea-drinkers.     In  the  second  temple, 


City  Temple,  Soochow. 

in  a  hall  that  extends  400  feet  around  the  building,  is  the 
picture  gallery  of  the  city,  where  native  art  is  displayed. 
The  temple,  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  the 
rendezvous  of  all  pleasure-seekers,  who  are  preceded  by 


2,7^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

a  horde  of  pickpockets  and  villains,  and  at  times  there 
may  be  seen  hundreds,  and  even  many  thousands,  of 
men  and  boys,  priests  and  beggars,  fortune-tellers  and 
gamblers,  a  motley  assembly,  calling  vividly  to  mind 
"  the  den  of  thieves  "  on  Mount  Moriah.  It  is  a  "  Vanity 
Fair,"  with  stalls  for  chinaware,  booths  for  fancy  articles, 


Snorter  and  Blower. 

stands  for  toys,  tables  for  confectionery,  and  cloths  on 
the  ground  for  a  variety  of  trinkets ;  also  travelling- 
kitchens,  small  restaurants,  and  pea-nut  baskets  for 
the  weary ;  and  foreign  pictures,  a  miniature  engine, 
jugglers,  acrobats,  sleight-of-hand  performers,  gymnastics, 
women  singers,    peep-shows,    puppet-shows,  bear    shows, 


Popes,  Priests,  and   Temples. 


379 


Punch-and-Judy  shows,  the  horn  and  the  gong,  for 
those  who  seek  amusement. 

The  Snorter  and  the  Blower.— Hen  and  Ha.  They 
hved  in  the  time  of  Kiang-T'aikung.  If  Hen  snorted, 
a  typhoon  would  issue  from  his  nose  which  would 
vanquish  the  foe.  If  Ha  blew  a  white  breath  the  enemy 
would  wither.     They  guard  the  "  Hill  Door." 

The    Three    Pure    Ones. — The    centre    one    is    the 


The  Three  Pure  Ones. 

"  Ancient  Original,"  the  one  on  the  right  the  ''  Spiritual 
Precious,"  and  the  bearded  man  is  Laotsze.  It  is  an 
evident  imitation  of  Buddhism,  which  has  its  three 
divinities,  but  two  of  "  The  Pure  Ones  "  are  imaginary 
beings,  and  the  third  is  the  Old  Philosopher.  These 
are  not  considered  to  exercise  any  power  or  jurisdiction, 
but  simply  to  sit  back  in  space,  serene  and  quiet,  while 
the  affairs  of  heaven    and    earth   are    directed    by    the 


380         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


Pearly  Emperor;  the  Pure  Ones  like  the  Mikado  of 
former  times,  and  the  Pearly  Emperor  as  the  Tycoon  or 
actual  ruler  of  Japan. 

The   Lantern   Pagoda. — During   the   first   moon    of 


Lantern  Pagoda. 

the  new  year  there  is  often  erected  on  the  bridges  a 
lantern  pagoda,  with  fifty  lanterns,  in  honour  of  the 
gods  of  riches,  fire,  and  agriculture,  and  also  "  to  give 
light  to  the  neighbourhood ;  "  considering  light  as  an 
emblem  of  temporal    prosperity.     These    seven-cornered 


Popes,  Priests,  and  Temples.  381 

frames  of  bamboo  are  drawn  up,  after  the  lanterns  are 
lighted,  by  a  rope  and  pulley  like  a  sail  on  the  mast  of 
a  boat.  It  is  a  beautiful  tower  of  light,  and  very  attrac- 
tive. May  it  be  that  "  the  people  which  sat  in  darkness 
saw  great  light ;  and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region 
and  shadow  of  death  light  is  sprung  up." 


CHAPTEK  XXV. 

TAOIST  GODS. 

The  Pearly  Emperor. — A  prominent  fact  in  pagan 
systems  is  that  a  secondary  divinity  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people  gradually  usurps  the  first  place,  as  is 
seen  in  the  gods  of  riches  and  medicine  of  Taoism, 
and  in  the  goddesses  of  mercy  of  Buddhism  and 
Eomanism.  "  The  Three  Pure  Ones "  are  above  him 
in  rank,  but  to  the  Pearly  Emperor  "  is  entrusted  the 
superintendence  of  the  world."  To  refer  to  a  European 
monarch  as  the  acknowledged  sovereign  and  the  Premier 
as  the  actual  ruler  is  not  an  exact  illustration,  as  the 
Pearly  Emperor  has  all  the  power  of  Heaven  and  earth 
in  his  hands.  He  is  the  correlative  of  Heaven,  or  rather 
Heaven  itself;  his  birthday  and  Heaven's  birthday  are 
the  same  ;  he  is  the  Jupiter  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 
Whenever  we  preach  of  one  supreme  Euler  of  the  universe, 
there  is  an  immediate  reference  to  the  Pearly  Emperor, 
so  to  dethrone  him  is  to  demolish  image  worship. 

His  legends  are  copies  of  the  Buddhistic  traditions. 
The  king  and  queen  of  the  kingdom  of  Miao  Luh  were 
worthy  sovereigns.  The  Spiritual  Precious,  the  second 
among  the  Pure  Ones,  took  his  jade  sceptre  and  blew  his 
breath    upon    it,    which   made  it  change   into   a   living 


Taoist  Gods. 


383 


being,  and  in  a  dream  of  the  night  it  entered  the  body 
of  the  Queen,  who  after  a  full  year  bore  the  Crown  Prince. 
There  is  a  song  the  Chinese  sing  : — 

*'  The  Spiritual  Precious  brought  in  his  hands 
The  Pearly  Emperor  from  heavenly  lands." 


Pearly  Emperor. 

The  kingdom  prospered  during  his  minority  ;  he  took 
all  the  gold  in  the  Imperial  treasury  to  give  alms.  On 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  reflecting  that  life  is  a  dream, 
he  gave  the  sceptre  to  another,  and  became  a  hermit  for 
a  hundred  years  ;  the  next  two  hundred  years  were  spent 
in  philanthropic  acts,  and  after  that  he  was  a  pupil  of  the 
Spiritual  Precious  for  thre«  hundred  years  in  the  Taoist 


384         The  Dragon,  Image ^  and  Demon. 


scriptures  ;  during  the  next  two  centuries  Heaven  and 
earth  received  his  blessings  ;  he  then  became  an  humble 
immortal,  till  on  his  one  thousandth  birthday  he  was 
made  god  of  Heaven,  earth,  and  men. 

This  is  the  poetic  account.  As  a  matter  of  history,  the 
Emperor  Hwei  Tsung  in  the  twelfth  century  conferred 
upon  a  magician,  by  t1ie  name  of  Chang  Ye,  the  title  of 
Shangte,  The  Pearly  mperor,  and  the  people,  finding 
one  deity  so  much  simpler  than  an  abstract  triumvirate, 
accepted  him  as  their  Optimus  Maximus.  His  actual 
rule  has  been  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  years  (some 

locate  him  in  the  T'ang  dynas- 

s^f]^^^^^^:^Tr        ty    one    thousand     years    ago). 

ig-*;45^jf:j(^gj^gi'^a;^^^        He     has     thirty  -  six     ministers 

'^mtm^hEi^i^m        ^^^    ^^^    ^^^^^    attendants,    one 
^^:^^'Mt^^W^^^        with  three  heads  and  six  arms, 

^^t'V^z^^^'^^n      A  .1.    ,u     -.1.  f     I.  A 

'A^^^f-i^/iV^gj^^p^^        and  the   other  with  tour   heads 
I^SS^IllSl        a^d  eight  arms. 

List  of  Gods.  Tsusze    P'usa — He    is    the 

minister  to  the  Pearly  Em- 
peror, who  in  turn  has  two  assistants,  the  snake  and 
the  turtle,  which  are  seen  by  his  side.  His  father  was 
king  of  Tsin  Luh.  He  was  a  precocious  youth ;  at  ten 
years  of  age  in  one  glance  he  understood  the  classics, 
and  at  fifteen  left  home.  With  hair  dishevelled  he 
went  to  the  Snowy  Mountains  to  become  a  hermit,  but 
could  not  endure  the  cold.  On  his  return  he  met  an 
old  woman  grinding  a  crowbar.  "What  are  you  doing, 
old  lady  ?  "  "  Oh  !  I  am  grinding  this  crowbar  into  a 
needle."  "  But  how  can  you  accomplish  so  arduous  an 
undertaking?"      "Oh!     you    can     do    anything    with 


Taoist  Gods, 


.S5 


patience."  He  returned  to  the  hills  for  forty-nine 
years,  when  he  became  an  immortal.  One  of  his  four 
ministers  has  a  green  face  and  a  girdle  of  bones ;  is  able 
to  control  hobgoblins,  and  can  gather  the  clouds  and 
send  rain. 

The  City  gods. — As  the  government  of  Hades  is 
the  exact  counterpart  of  the  government  of  the  Chinese 
Empire,  all    the    mandarins  of  the    world  of  night    are 


Tsusze  P'usa. 


Chinamen  ;  so  the  gentry  are  not  only  aspirants  for 
temporal  power,  but  they  also  seek  for  divine  honours, 
and  the  generous  sovereigns  of  the  land,  who  also  preside 
over  their  departed  subjects,  generally  try  to  gratify  their 
ambition.  Each  of  the  sixteen  hundred  cities  has  its  city 
god ;  also  the  one  hundred  thousand  great  market  towns 
each  claim  a  local  god,  and  not  a  few  of  the  million  villages 
have  their  village  gods,  so  these  gods  are  a  "  multitude 
which   no    man    can    number."      The  mandarins  act   as 

25 


386         The  D^^agon,  Image y  and  Demon, 

governors,  judges,  magistrates,  tax-collectors,  and  coroners, 
all  combined  in  one  office,  so  the  duties  of  the  city 
gods  are  multifarious.  These  are  often  taken  to  the 
temple  of  the  Pearly  Emperor,  and  an  entrance  fee 
from  $20  to  $100  is  paid  to  the  priests  for  an  audience 
of  the   god  before  the  king  of  gods. 

Assistants    to   the    City    gods. — The   work   of  the 


Eastern  Peak. 

Yamens  is  mostly  performed  by  the  secretaries,  so  beside 
the  gods  are  the  images  of  a  retinue  of  secretaries  and 
attendants.  There  are  two  principal  ones  who  attend  to 
the  lawsuits  in  Hades,  and  who  decide  what  grade  of 
punishment  should  be  inflicted,  and  to  which  prison  of 
the  lost  the  guilty  should  be  assigned.  They  are  wor- 
shipped by  all. 

The  Mediator. — Tn  the  first   and  sixth  moons  there 


Taoist  Gods.  387 


are  many  devotees.  If  a  man  wishes  to  worship  the  Pearly 
Emperor  he  first  adores  the  Chan-Tseusze,  and  requests 
that  deity  to  obtain  for  him  an  audience.  On  the  fifth 
of  the  fifth  moon,  fifteenth  of  the  eighth  moon,  and 
thirtieth  of  the  twelfth  moon,  all  the  gods  must  be  present 
at  the  Pearly  Emperor's  levee.  These  gods  must  first 
present  themselves  at  the  Mediator's  temple,  so  that  he 
may  obtain  tickets  for  their  spirits  at  the  high  audience. 
The  Eastern  Peak. — The  "  Eastern  Peak  "  is  Mount 
Pai,  and  this  is  the  god  of  that  mountain  ;  his  reputation 
having  rapidly  increased  during  the  last  century.  The 
Chinese  have  not  very  distinct  ideas  about  the  rulers  of 
Tartarus,  so  among  others  he  is  now  considered  the  "  god 
of  the  Judgment  Day."  At  the  "Fall  Judgment"  the 
Taoists  issue  proclamations,  calling  on  all  the  orphan 
spirits  to  assemble  and  receive  sentence,  as  he  holds  in 
his  hand  the  awards  of  good  and  evil,  but  he  considers 
the  hypocrite  who  pays  his  fee  as  a  good  man. 

The  rank  of  the  Eastern  Peak  among  the  long  columns 
of  native  gods  is  as  high  as  the  lofty  summit  of  Mount 
T'ai  among  the  ranges  of  Chinese  hills.  One  feature  of 
his  worship  in  some  places  differs  from  others,  in  that  the 
temples  belong  to  families  and  have  no  priesthood,  so  the 
devotees  are  both  men  and  women  who  mingle  in  the 
nocturnal  devotions.  At  a  Hangchow  temple  it  has  been 
computed  that  $1,000  every  night  of  the  worship  season 
was  spent  in  burning  paper  money,  contributed  by  the 
gentry  and  by  pilgrims.  At  this  time  also  the  sick  are 
brought  for  healing,  and  lunatics  in  his  presence  are 
cured  by  the  casting  out  of  devils.  In  this  temple  the 
processions    with   torches   and    lanterns,    the   tinsel   and 


7,^S         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

embroidery,  the  solemn  prostrations  and  the  mimic  of  a 
royal  pantomime,  are  as  gorgeous  as  Chinese  art  can 
devise. 

The  Empress  of  Heaven  or  Goddess  of  the  Sea. — 
She  is  not  only  worshipped  by  "  men  that  go  down  to 
the    sea  in  ships,"   but    by   millions  on  land.      In   girl- 


Goddess  of  the  Sea. 


hood  she  was  a  Miss  Ling,  a  prophetess  whose  predictions, 
whether  favourable  or  adverse,  were  sure  to  be  fulfilled. 
"  Her  brothers,  four  in  number,  were  merchants.  On  one 
occasion  when  they  were  absent  on  a  trading  voyage,  she 
fell  into  a  deep  trance,  from  which  she  was  aroused  by 
the  loud  lamentations  of  her  parents,  who  supposed  her 


Taoist  Gods.  389 


dead.  On  recovering  herself  she  informed  them  that 
she  had  seen  her  brothers  at  sea  in  a  violent  storm. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  youngest  son  returned  home  and 
reported  the  loss  of  his  elder  brothers.  He  stated  that 
during  the  storm  a  lady  appeared  in  mid-heaven,  and  by 
means  of  a  rope  dragged  the  ship  into  a  safe  position. 
His  sister  said  she  had  hastened  to  the  rescue  of  her 
elder  brothers,  but  while  in  the  very  act  of  saving  them 
was  awakened  by  the  cries  of  her  parents." 

Afterwards  old  Islx.  Ling  was  drowned  in  the  sea,  and 
when  the  affectionate  daughter  heard  the  sad  tidings  she 
went  to  the  ocean's  shore  to  weep,  and  her  grief  being 
excessive,  she  threw  herself  into  the  foaming  deep.  Both 
bodies  floated  to  the  shore,  and  were  buried  by  mourning 
relatives. 

In  after  years,  a  mandarin  travelling  to  Corea  met 
with  a  typhoon,  and  while  all  other  ships  foundered,  he 
saw  an  angel-lamp  guiding  his  boat.  After  going  about 
seven  hundred  miles  he  landed  at  an  island,  and  seeing 
a  temple  asked  what  it  was,  and  was  told  it  was  ]Miss 
Ling's.  She  is  the  guardian  protectress  of  the  sailor, 
and  in  nights  of  storm  holds  out  an  angel-lantern  in  the 
sky  to  guide  the  almost  shipwrecked  mariner. 

By  her  side  are  two  assistant  gods  ;  one  with  an  eagle 
eye,  who  is  called  "  The  Telescope  Eye  "  or  "  The  Thousand- 
Mile  Eye  ;  "  the  other  bending  forward  his  ear  to  hear 
the  propitious  breeze,  who  is  called  "  Favouring- Wind 
Ear."  Recently,  in  Shanghai,  a  temple  was  built  on  the 
site  of  the  former  railway  station.  For  the  Queen  of 
Heaven,  see  Jeremiah,  44th  chapter. 

God  of  Fire.— The  god  of  fire,  called  the  Ho-Lih-Ta-Tee, 


390         The  Di^agoit,  Image,  and  Demon. 


has  three  eyes  and  a  red  beard,  and  is  worshipped  on  the 
third,  thirteenth,  and  twenty-third  of  each  month.  Some 
two  or  three  centuries  ago  there  was  a  great  conflagra- 
tion in  Soochow,  which  lasted  two  or  three  days.  After 
every  method  to  extinguish  the  devouring  element 
had  been  exhausted,  the  Grovernor  threw  his  hat,  shoes, 
and  clothing  in  the  fire,  but  without  effect;  at  last  he 
jumped  in  and  was  burned  to  death,  and  was  made  the 

god  of  fire  for  this  city.  He  has 
Eight  Ministers. — The  first 
holds  the  jive  how  and  arroivs, 
and  wherever  an  arrow  flies  there 
is  a  conflagration.  The  second 
minister  holds  the  fi^^e- crow,  and 
on  the  house  where  this  bird  of 
ill  omen  alights  the  insurance 
companies  suffer.  The  third 
holds  the  fire-rat  in  his  hand, 
and  walls,  garrets,  and  roofs  are 
not  safe  from  his  intrusion.  The 
fourth  has  the  foot  measure  and 
fire-spade;  the  one  to  measure 
the  extent  of  the  conflagra- 
tion, and  the  other  to  shovel  up  sparks.  The  fifth  is  the 
Captain  of  the  "  Black  Flags."  The  sixth  commands  the 
"  fire-engine,"-  from  whose  hose  fire  spouts  out.  The 
seventh  minister  holds  the  red-hot  fire  halls,  and  the 
eighth  flashes  fire  from  the  fire-mirror.  These  are 
supplicated  in  the  "  great  fire  service  "  of  the  eighth 
month. 

God  of  Pestilence. — The  god  of  pestilence  in   some 


God  of  Fire. 


Taoist  Gods,  39 


temples  has  a  black  face.  He  was  originally  a  literary 
man.  One  day,  returning  from  school,  he  saw  a  demon 
about  to  blow  his  deadly  breath  into  a  well,  and  reflecting 
that  this  was  a  public  well,  and  that  a  multitude  would  be 
poisoned,  but  that  if  they  saw  a  dead  body  in  the  water  no 
one  would  drink  from  it,  he  leaped  into  the  well.  He  was 
appointed  the  god  of  pestilence,  and  whenever  there  is 


God  of  Pestilence. 

an  epidemic  they  take  him  out  in  a  procession.      He  is 
one  of  the  four  high  ministers  of  Heaven. 

The  Three  Mandarins. — They  are  much  worshipped, 
especially  in  North  China  ;  the  three  rulers  of  Heaven, 
earth,  and  water.  The  first  rules  Heaven,  the  second  earth, 
and  the  third  the  seas,  lakes,  rivers,  and  canals.  Their 
birthdays  occur  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  first,  seventh,  and 
tenth  moons,  and  their  fasts,  two  weeks  preceding  their 
natal  days.  The  principal  time  for  worship  is  in  August, 
when  the  pilgrims  of  Soochow  ascend  Mount  Seven-Sons  ; 


392         The  Di^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

on  the  pleasure  boats  they  gamble  all  the  way  going  ; 
they  ascend  to  the  temple  under  the  burning  sun,  then 
descend  and  have  a  wine-feast. 

The  Three  Mao. — They  are  three  brothers  ruling 
the  three  peaks  of  Mount  Mao,  and  they  exercise  a  com- 
manding influence  throughout  this  section  by  means  of 
the  charms  from  this  sacred  mountain,  which  are  sold. 
The   eldest,  receiving  the  drug  of  immortality,  returned 


Three  Mandarins. 

to  see  his  parents.  The  old  man  was  very  angry  because 
his  son  had  remained  away  so  long,  and  had  learned  no 
trade,  and  took  a  rod  to  chastise  him.  The  son  assured 
him  he  was  protected  by  Heavenly  legions  ;  the  father 
smote,  but  the  cane  broke  in  pieces.  His  younger 
brothers,  who  were  mandarins,  came  on  an  appointed 
day  to  see  him  leave  the  earth,  whereupon  he  mounted 
his  chariot,  rode  upon  a  cloud,  and  ascended  ;  upon  this. 


Taoist  Gods.  393 

the  two  brothers  resigned  their  positions,  and  became,  first 
hermits,  and  then  genii.  The  trio  were  once  seen,  the 
first  riding  in  a  tiger  chariot,  and  the  other  two  upon 
phoenixes,  ascending  to  see  Shangte. 

The    Five    Holy    Ones,   or,  as  they  are  sometimes 
termed,  ''The  Five  Thoroughfares  ; "  are  five  brothers,  and 


Five  Holy  Ones. 

in  the  temple  in  the  rear  are  the  images  of  their  mother 
and  five  wives.  The  first  of  the  Ming  emperors  canonized 
them.  The  witches  use  their  name,  and  if  a  pretty  lady  is 
sick  they  say,  "  The  Five  Holy  Ones  want  her  for  a  wife  " 
(in  the  other  world),  and  hope  to  get  good  pay  by  telling 
how  to  escape  the  fate.  The  temple  by  the  Stone  Lake 
near  this  city  has  been  twice  destroyed  by  order  of  the 


394         ^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Governor,  as  the  influence  of  these  gods  was  injurious  to 
the  public  morals,  but  their  popularity  is  undiminished. 

God  of  Witches. — He  stands  as  a  mediator  beside 
the  "Five  Holy  Ones."  When  one  is  afflicted  with 
epilepsy  the  witches  say,  "  The  Five  Holy  Ones  call  him," 
and  will  advise  appealing  to  the  god  of  witches  to  inter- 
cede for  him  with  these  deities,  and  he  will  get  well. 

The  Horse  Duke— He  has  charge  of  the  stables  of 


Western  Royal  Mother. 

the   Five    Holy    Ones,  who   are   noted    equestrians,    and 
choose  the  night  for  their  races  upon  the  hills. 

Western  Royal  Mother.—"  A  fabulous  being  of  the 
female  sex,  dwelling  upon  Mount  Kw'enlun,  at  the  head 
of  the  troops  of  genii,  and  holding  from  time  to  time 
intercourse  with  favoured  Imperial  votaries ;  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  Taoist  writers  of  several  centuries  has  been 
exercised  in  glowing  descriptions  of  the  magnificence 
of  her  mountain-palace."  Kw'enlun  is  "a  mountain  of 
Central  Asia  widely  celebrated  in  Chinese  legends."     It 


Taoist  Gods.  395 


is  to  Taoism  what  Sumeru  is  to  the  Buddhists,  and  the 
descriptions  of  it  are  evidently  imitations  of  Hindoo 
mythology.  The  Western  Eoyal  Mother,  "  the  queen  of 
the  genii,"  who  goes  at  the  head  of  her  fairy  legions 
along  the  terraces  where  lie  "  the  fields  of  sessamum," 
and  the  "  gardens  of  coriander,"  and  by  the  borders  of 
the  "  lake  of  gems,"  has  had  fabulists  who  have  "  vied 
with  one  another  in  fantastic  descriptions  of  the  wonders 
of  this  abode."  When  she  visited  her  Imperial  votary, 
Han  Wute,  there  were  "  fairy  handmaids  that  poured  out 
the  wines  with  which  the  feasting  couple  were  regaled, 
and  discoursed  strains  of  divine  melody  during  the 
banquet." 

The  husband  of  the  Western  Eoyal  Mother  is  ]Muh- 
Kung,  the  Lord  King  of  the  East,  who,  "  according  to 
Taoist  legend,  was  one  of  the  first  beings  evolved  from 
chaos,"  and  "  it  appears  probable  that  the  original  con- 
ception of  such  a  personage  arose  from  the  desire  to 
find  a  mate  for  the  mystic  female  divinity." 

In  her  gardens  is  a  peach  tree,  which  puts  forth  leaves 
once  in  every  three  thousand  years,  and  it  required  three 
thousand  years  after  this  for  the  fruit  to  ripen.  These 
were  her  birthdays,  when  all  the  immortals  assembled  at 
her  palace,  and  there  was  a  great  ecumenical  council  of 
the  gods,  called  the  ''  Peach  Assembly ; "  the  occasion 
being  more  festive  than  solemn,  for  there  was  music  on 
invisible  instruments,  and  songs  not  from  mortal  tongues. 

Three  Corpse  gods. — Men  die  and  become  demons  ; 
demons  die  and  become  ghosts  ;  ghosts  die  and  become 
corpses.  The  first  is  a  nun  with  green  clothes,  the  second 
with  white  clothes,  and  the  third  with  red  clothes.     The 


39^         The  D^^agon^  Image,  and  Demon. 

first  is  called  Pang  Chu,  the  second  Pang  Cheh,  the 
third  Pang  Kiao.  These  three  corpse  gods  are  in  the 
body,  and  it  is  necessary  to  observe,  according  to  the 
almanac,  a  watch-night  to  keep  them  in,  else  on  that 
night,  if  one  sleeps,  these  will  go  above  to  tell  of  his 
sins. 

Day  and  Night  Recorders — There  are  these  two 
images  in  the  temples,  the  one  recording  the  good  and 
the  bad  done  in  daylight,  and  the  other  taking  account 
of  the  good  and  bad  thoughts  when  in  bed. 

Road  god — On  dangerous  roads  he  grants  protection 
from  robbers  and  wild  beasts.  He  is  Lih  Ling,  and  aide- 
de-camp  to  the  god  of  thunder,  appointed  because  of  his 
speed.  The  Taoists,  speaking  of  rapidity  by  metonomy, 
say,  "Lih  Ling."  He  was  first  an  escort  to  the  wife  of 
the  Emperor  Hien  Yuen. 

Open  Road  gods — These  are  two  tall  giants,  the  one 
a  European,  and  the  other  an  Ethiopian,  by  name  Yayii 
and  Wanwen,  who  are  drawn  on  chariots  made  of  boxes 
with  little  wheels  such  as  boys  improvise  for  their  amuse- 
ment, and  go  in  front  of  the  coffins  of  families  of  man- 
darins of  the  first,  second,  and  third  rank.  They  secure 
the  repose  of  the  soul  in  the  coffin,  and  protect  it  from 
any  sudden  frights  of  the  spirits  it  may  meet  on  the 
way  to  the  grave. 

White  Tiger  god. — The  Emperor  Hien  Yuen  saw  a 
god  riding  on  a  white  tiger,  and  coming  to  his  palace. 
The  Western  Royal  Mother  appointed  the  White  Tiger 
god  as  ruler  of  the  world. 

Wang  Ling  Kwan. — In  the  temple  of  this  god  there 
is  a  sign-board — "  Have  you  come  ?"  i.e.,  "  I  am  looking 


Taoist  Gods. 


397 


for  you,"  "  You  are  the  very  man  I  want."  These  three 
words  in  this  simple  question  frighten  the  man  and  make 
him  feel  his  sins. 

The  Military  Official.— In  some  of  the  Taoist  services 
a  small  table  is  placed  on  a  large  one,  and  a  bench  u[)on 


Wang  Ling  Kwan. 


that,  with  a  dragon  tablet  on  the  top.  At  the  window 
opposite  is  a  paper  mounted  horseman,  to  whom  a  least 
is  offered,  and  then  he  is  burned  ;  the  hypothesis  is  that 
he  goes  to  Heaven  on  horseback  and  brings  back  his 
saddle-bags  full  of  good  things, — a  deified  Santa  Claus. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

MEDICAL     DIVINITIES. 

n^HEOLOGrlCAL  works,  in  discussing  the  proofs  for  the 
existence  of  God,  have  presented  as  an  argument, 
the  belief  of  all  mankind,  of  all  lands  and  races,  in  beings 
superior  to  men,  who,  in  a  measure,  control  their  destinies; 
the  argument  is  from  the  religious  nature  of  man,  that 
men  must  have  some  object  to  worship  and  adore. 

An  equally  strong  argument  may  be  adduced  from  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  universal  belief  that  invisible  agencies 
control  disease,  that  men  seek  help  from  Grod,  or  the  gods, 
in  times  of  sickness,  and  that  when  the  body  is  suffering 
with  pain  it  is  the  special  time  to  offer  incense,  prayers, 
and  sacrifices.  In  China,  religion  and  medicine  are 
inseparably  connected. 

Leu  Chen  Yang,  the  Chinese  i^sculapius. — 
nearly  every  doctor's  office  there  hangs  a  large  scroll 
portrait  of  Leu  Chen  Yang,  who  was  one  of  the  eight 
immortals,  and  the  most  prominent  medical  divinity  of 
the  Chinese,  and  though  several  of  the  gods  of  this 
profession  outrank  him,  yet  in  the  amount  of  practice 
he  receives  he  has  eclipsed  them  all.  He  was  a  Hanlin 
graduate  at  Peking,  and  a  mandarin,  but  retired  to  the 
mountains    to  search  for    immortality.      His    birthday  is 


Medical  Divinities. 


399 


the  fourth  moon,  fourteenth  day,  and  so  many  go  to  his 
temple,  that  it  is  popularly  called,  "  Crowd  the  Divine 
Immortal."     The  Governor  worships  him. 

The    King  of   Medicine.— There   are   four   of  these 
gods,  or  perhaps  one  with  four  titles.      Desiring  to  cure 


Leu  Chen  Yang. 

the  10,000  different  forms  of  disease,  he  tasted  all  kinds 
of  herbs  that  he  might  know  their  virtue.  In  one  day 
he  ate  seventy  poisons ;  his  body  was  transparent,  so  that 
the  effects  of  the  medicines  could  be  seen. 

Hien  Yuen  and  Chepah.— To  the  first  of  these  the 
Chinese  not  only  ascribe  the  invention  of  clothing   and 


400         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


architecture,  but  also  of  medicine.  "  He  was  the  first  to 
determine  the  relations  of  the  five  viscera  to  the  five 
elements,  and  describe  internal  and  external  diseases." 
Chepah  was  his  assistant  in  medical  investigations,  "  the 
author  of  prescriptions,"  and  "  the  reputed  founder  of  the 
art  of  healing." 

Dr.  Fox. — Foxes  are  found  in  the  northern  provinces, 


Medicine  God. 


Dr.  Fox. 


and  light  literature  abounds  in  legends  about  this 
creature,  who  may  become  a  man  or  a  woman,  and 
practise  all  kinds  of  deceit.  Houses  are  frequently 
haunted  by  the  fox,  and  both  the  gentry  and  peasantry 
believe  that  his  ingress  and  exit  may  be  with  closed  doors. 
In  the  Confucian  archives  in  this  city,  the  fox  sees  to 
airing  the  books.    Near  the  Imperial  Tailors'  Yamen,  from 


Medical  Divinities, 


401 


which,  twice  a  year,  one  thousand  trunks  of  embroidered 
clothing  are  sent  to  Peking,  is  the  temple  of  the  fox 
immortal ;  if  there  is  a  spot  of  grease  on  a  robe,  his 
glance  is  equal  to  benzine  for  removing  it,  and  the 
garments  are  folded  and  packed  before  his  shrine. 

The  sick  and   their  friends  go  to  Dr.   Fox  with  every 
disease,  and   his  is   the   most  celebrated    temple    in  the 
city  for  genii  prescriptions.     The  three  sides  of  a  large 
hall     are     filled     with     "  votive 
tablets,"  presented  by  the  devo- 
tees on  recovery.      The  "votive 
tablets "    say,    "  With    a    pious 
heart  I  pray  ; "  "  Piety  is  effica- 
cious ;  "  "  Prayer  is  sure  to  have 
its  answer." 

Just  as  there  are  drug  stores 
in  every  part  of  the  city,  con- 
venient for  local  trade,  so  there 
are  idol  shrines  situated  in  every 
ward,  whose  deities  have  con- 
siderable fame  in  the  art  of  heal- 
ing, and  to  whom  the  people 
carry  all  their  sicknesses. 

Dr.  Hwat'u. — This  distinguished  physician  lived  in 
the  second  century  of  our  era,  and  "  all  that  is  known 
respecting  his  career  is  derived  from  tradition  and 
romance,  in  which  his  wonderful  skill  and  attainments 
are  widely  celebrated,  and  he  is  said  to  have  been 
especially  successful  in  surgical  operations  of  a  marvel- 
lous description." 

In  his  later  years  he  was  imprisoned  by  royal  command, 

26 


Dr.  Hwat'u, 


402         The  Dragon,  linage,  and  Demon. 

and  as  the  jailer  was  very  kind  to  the  .physician,  the 
latter  gave  him  his  book  of  prescriptions.  Unfortunately, 
when  the  possessor  of  this  legacy  attended  the  state 
prisoner  to  the  execution  grounds,  his  wife,  not  knowing 
the  value  of  the  roll,  used  it  in  kindling  her  fire,  so  it 
was  lost  to  the  world.  He  stands  second  in  rank  among 
the  Heavenly  doctors ;  the  people  now  bow  at  his  shrine, 
and  pray  for  prescriptions.  He  is  the  greatest  physician 
China  ever  possessed. 


Eye  god. 


Small-pox  god. 


The  Divine  Oculist. — In  this  country,  where  ophthal- 
Ja  prevails  so  extensively,  he  is  worshipped  by  all  who 
have  diseased  eyes. 

God  of  Small-pox — In  China  from  early  ages  inocula- 
tion was  practised,  or,  as  it  is  called,  "planting"  in  the 
nose ;  generally  when  the  child  is  two  years  old.  As  the 
fatality  is  very  great,  when  the  doctor  comes  to  "  plant 
the  small-pox"  the  family  go  through  with  extensive 
religious  ceremonies,  the  god  being  worshipped  with 
a  feast,   incense,  and  fire-crackers. 


Medical  Divinities. 


403 


Liver  Complaint  and  Stomach-ache  Genii. — These 
are  beardless  young  men,  who  are  worshipped  by  those 
who  have  the  aforesaid  maladies. 

God  of  Measles. — He  has  a  speckled  face.  Wor- 
shipped by  those  who  break  out  with  measles. 

God  of  Luck — King  Wan  is  the  man  ;  they  do  not 
call  him  "  god  of  luck,"  but  "  King  Wan's  luck."  Only 
worshipped  in  times  of  sickness.  They  light  three  sticks 
of  incense  when  they  go  to  consult  the  blind  fortune- 
teller, and  three  sticks  when  they 
return. 

God  of  the  Primordial  Cause. 
— T'ai  Yih.  He  lived  in  the  time 
of  the  Divine  Husbandman,  who 
visited  him  to  inquire  about  diseases 
and  fortune.  He  was  Hien  Yuen's 
medical  preceptor,  and  Chepah  gave 
him  a  treatise  on  physiology  and  a 
roll  of  charms.  His  medical  know- 
ledge was  handed  down  to  future 
ages.     He  went  with  the  immortals 

to  the  Peach  Assembly  of  the  gods  to  meet  the  Western 
Koyal  Mother.  In  times  of  sickness  to  chant  seven  days, 
"  T'ai  Yih,  honourable  god,  save  from  pain,"  is  a  certain 
panacea. 

Goddess  of  the  Womb. — Mang  Kinee.  She  is  a 
pigmy,  only  three  inches  in  height.  Before  the  birth  of 
a  child,  if  worshipped,  everything  will  be  favourable. 

Goddess  of  Midwives. — She  is  worshipped  by  the 
female  attendants,  and  Mrs.  Kyien  Sen's  shrine  is  in 
their   homes.     Both    before   and    afterwards    the    happy 


Goddess  of  Midwives. 


404        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

parents  offer  and  pay  their  vows.  Eed  eggs  are  used  in 
her  worship,  which,  for  good  luck,  are  often  stolen  by  the 
childless. 

The  Sleeping  Buddha.— The  Soochowites,  if  afflicted 
with  sleeplessness,  burn  incense  to  the  reclining  image  of 
this  Buddha,  and  pat  him  with  their  hand  to  soothe  his 
nerves ;  if  this  fails  to  bring  back  sleep,  "  the  sweet 
restorer,"  they  make  a  bed-quilt  to  cover  him. 

The  Thirty  Teachers.— Among  the  seventy-two 
teachers  are  thirty  gods  of  medicine  who  are  worshipped  by 
those  who  have  the  special  maladies.  The  numbers  cor- 
respond to  their  positions  in  the  temple. 

1,  Euler  of  Headache;  3,  Chills;  4,  Liver;  5, 
Diarrhoea ;     6,     Dropsy ;     7,     Cough ;     8,   Stomach-ache ; 

9,  Colic  ;   10,  The  Divine  Ocuhst ;  11,  The  Divine  Aurist  ; 

12,  Small-pox;  13,  Sores;  18,  Consumption;  21,  Animal 
spirits ;  27,  Ague  ;  28,  God  of  the  sickness  from  losing 
the  soul  ;  34,  Pestilence  ;  36,  To  stop  the  Pestilence ;  39, 
Euler  of  the  thirteen  kinds  of  doctors  ;  47,  Acupuncture  ; 
48,  Haemorrhage  ;  49,  Criminal  Judge  of  Pestilence  ;  53, 
Drugs ;  57,  Weakness  ;  58,  Dyspepsia ;  59,  Diseases  of 
hands  and  feet ;  60,  Breast ;  61,  Poison  ;  63,  Toothache. 

Gods  of  the  Body. — 1,  The  god  of  the  hair  is  called 
Chwang  Wa  ;  2,  god  of  the  brain,  T'sing  Ken  ;  3,  god  of 
the  eye,  Ming  Chang ;  4,  god  of  the  nose,  Yii  Lung  ; 
5,  god  of  the  ear,  K'ung  Yen ;  6,  god  of  the  tongue, 
T'ung  Ming  ;  7,  god  of  the  teeth,  Muh  Fung ;  8,  god 
of  the  heart.  Tan  Yuen ;    9,  god  of  the  lungs,  Kao  Wa ; 

10,  god  of  the  liver,  Lung  Yien ;  11,  god  of  the 
kidneys,  Yuen  Ming  ;   12,  god  of  the  spleen,  Chang  Tsai ; 

13,  god   of   the    gall.    Lung   Yao ;    14,  god    of  the  dia- 


Medical  Divinities.  405 


plnagm,  Tao  Kaug  ;  lo,  god  of  the  nape  of  tlie  neck,  Shang 
Kien;  16,  god  of  the  neck,  Yli  Nu  Kiiin ;  17,  god  of 
the  throat.  Pah  Lien  Fang;  18,  god  of  the  back,  Nli 
Chah;  19,  god  of  the  breast,  Hu  Pen;  20,  god  of  the 
ribs,  Pih  Kya  Ma;  21,  god  of  the  stomach,  Tung  Lien 
Yoh  ;  "11,  god  of  the  bowels,  Chao  Ten  Kang ;  23,  god 
of  the  hand,  Wen  Yin  ;  24,  god  of  the  feet,  Chu  Tien  Lih  ; 
25,  god  of  the  skin,  T'ang  Chang. 

Thanking  the  Earth-god— Just  above  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  or  just  underneath,  the  earth-god  is  continu- 
ally passing  along,  and  sometimes  when  one  plucks  a 
flower,  or  pulls  a  spear  of  grass,  or  upturns  the  soil,  he 
meets  with  this  deity  in  his  journeys  and  interferes  with 
his  progress.  The  next  day  the  man  has  neuralgic  or 
rheumatic  pains  in  his  arms,  legs,  or  back.  Tlie  fortune- 
teller informs  him  that  he  has  interfered  wit  h  the  "  earth" 
or  the  earth-god;  a  musician,  not  a  physician,  is  called 
in,  and  a  paper-god,  three  cups  of  wine,  and  three  kinds 
of  meat  are  placed  on  the  table  ;  the  sick  man  beats  on 
the  wooden  fish-head  and  chants  the  ''  Pure  Sutra  ;  "  the 
paper-god  is  burnt  and  ascends  in  the  smoke :  the  service 
is  called  "burning  paper"  and  "using  cashT 

The  Peasants — The  practice  of  medicine  among  the 
farmers  in  Central  China  is  mostly  confined  to  idol 
worship ;  they  seldom  go  to  the  drug  stores,  or  apply  to 
the  doctors,  but  first  try  incense  and  tinfoil  money,  for, 
say  they,  most  surely  it  is  an  evil  spirit  that  has  brought 
sickness  on  the  child.  One  day,  in  the  country,  meeting 
a  man  with  two  large  baskets  of  candles  and  paper  money, 
I  asked,  "  My  friend,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  all 
those  articles  for  worship  ?     Sit  down  on  the  bridge  here 


4o6         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

and  let  us  talk  about  it."  He  says,  "  I  am  an  old  man, 
fifty-three  years  of  age,  I  have  only  one  son,  a  little 
boy  three  years  old,  he  has  been  sick  four  days,  and  I 
want  to  drive  the  evil  spirit  away  from  him."  "  Have  you 
called  a  physician  ?  "  "  No."  "  Have  you  given  him  any 
medicine  ?  "  "  No."  This  method  of  curing  sickness  is 
universal  among  the  lower  classes,  and  resorted  to  nearly 
as  much  by  the  gentry. 

Dedicated  to  the  Priesthood. — When  children  are 
extremely  ill,  in  North  China,  the  parents  make  a  vow 
that  they  will  give  them  to  the  priesthood  ;  the  priests  of 
the  temple  give  the  boy  a  hat  and  a  name,  and  the 
parents  pay  the  priests  a  shilling  per  annum,  and  when 
the  child  is  old  enough  he  either  fulfils  the  vow  or  on  his 
wedding-day  he  is  redeemed  by  the  gift  of  a  donkey  as 
a  substitute.  Thus  long  life  for  delicate  children  is 
secured. 

Getting  a  Piescription. — The  sick  man  or  his  friends 
go  to  the  temple,  light  candles  and  incense,  kneel  and 
shake  the  bamboo  cup  (as  in  the  picture  "  Consulting  the 
Oracle,"  Chapter  XIII.),  till  one  of  the  slips  jumps  out ; 
the  number  is  noted,  and  the  priest  unrolls  a  musty  bundle 
and  hands  him  a  prescription,  which  is  of  the  most  harm- 
less description,  for  if  it  does  not  cure,  it  will  not  kill. 
This  grafting  of  medicine  on  to  religion  was  first  practised 
by  the  Taoists,  but  has  been  adopted  by  the  Buddhists. 
"  Taoism,  as  it  is  popularly  believed,  is  one  of  the  most 
abject  of  all  the  religions  that  the  world  has  known. 
There  is  much  in  it  which  is  so  wretchedly  mean,  that  the 
examination  of  it  is  quite  dispiriting,  and  the  reflection 
often  occurs.  Can  the  soul  of  man  sink  so  low  as  this  ? 


Medical  Divinities.  407 

The  Taoist  doctors  gain  their  living  by  a  trade  no  more 
respectable  than  that  of  a  gipsy  fortune-teller." 

The  Charmed  Water. — This  method  was  said  to  have 
been  originated  by  a  Honan  physician,  and  is  extensively 
used  in  various  forms.  They  take  a  charm,  burn  it  over  a 
cup  of  water,  stir  in  the  ashes,  and  drink  it.  It  is  much 
used  in  this  city.  Buddhist  priests,  imitating  the  Taoist s 
but  differing  in  method,  do  not  use  the  charm,  but  chant 
over  the  water  and  call  it  "  the  great  pity  water,"  and 
"  the  eight  merit  water  ; "  there  is  also  "  the  great  pity 
plaster."  The  sick  often  look  steadfastly  at  a  cup  of  water 
and  chant  the  "  Great  Pity  Sutra,"  drink  it,  and  get  well. 

"  Healing  by  prayer  or  charms  formed  one  of  the 
thirteen  departments  of  medicine  in  the  Grreat  Medical 
College  in  the  Yuen  and  Ming  dynasties,  but  during  the 
present  dynasty  it  has  ceased  to  be  considered  one  of 
the  practices."  "  The  practice  is  neither  local,  private, 
wonderful,  new,  nor  hereditary,  but  exists  all  over  China. 
It  is  applied  not  to  single  diseases  or  classes  of  disease 
only,  but  to  all  cases  of  medical  or  surgical  practice,  with 
variations  according  to  the  seat  of  the  disease,  the  whim 
of  the  quack,  or  the  particular  system  of  the  operator. 
The  characters  traced  to  make  the  charms  are  various, 
of  various  devices  and  curious  symbolical  figures,  some 
of  which  are  meaningless  ;  on  variously  coloured  paper, 
generally  yellow  or  gilt ;  with  coloured  inks,  red  and 
black  being  preferred,  and  prescribed  to  be  burnt,  and 
taken  in  various  ways.  In  surgical  cases  the  patient 
sometimes  lies  flat  on  his  back,  and  the  operator  with 
water  or  oil  describes  a  charm  or  a  series  of  circles  around 
the   affected   part,   and   applies  the  ashes  of   the   burnt 


4o8         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


charm  in  various  ways."  Sometimes  the  charm  is 
applied  to  the  affected  part  by  pasting.  ^'  For  consump- 
tion, the  charm  is  to  be  pasted  on  both  hands  and  feet ; 
for  diarrhoea,  to  be  written  with  vermilion  ink,  and  pasted 
over  the  door ;  for  colds,  to  be  pasted  on  the  temples ; 
for  bronchitis,  to  be  eaten  ;  for  ulcers,  charms  are  to  be 
written  over  them."  When  the  charm  is  eaten  or  applied, 
a  mystic  formula,  a  kind  of  prayer, 
is  repeated  by  the  dealer  in  charms, 
and  it  is  considered  that  there  is  "  a 
spiritual  department  of  healing,"  and 
that  "  the  remedy  will  be  ineffica- 
cious unless  the  heart  be  full  of 
honour  to  the  gods." 

Borrowing  Years.  —  In  times 
of  sickness,  when  one  is  nigh  unto 
death,  the  physicians  having  ex- 
hausted every  expedient  and  there 
remaining  no  hope,  it  is  customary 
for  a  member  of  the  family  to  lend 
years  to  the  sick  relative  ;  as  sons 
and  daughters  may  lend  to  fathers 
and  mothers ;  daughters-in-law  to 
mothers-in-law ;  wife  to  husband,  and  3^ounger  brother  to 
elder  brother :  fathers  borrowing  life  from  their  sons  is 
most  frequent.  The  devotee  bathes  and  fasts,  goes  to 
the  nearest  city  temple,  and  writes  out  a  "  life  policy," 
certifying  that  he  will  take  off  twelve  years  from  his  own 
life,  and  give  them  to  the  sick  person;  he  then  goes  from 
this  temple  to  the  temple  of  the  Eastern  Peak  and  burns 
the  certificate.    Our  nearest  neighbour,  a  doctor,  was  at  the 


The  Criminal. 


Medical  Divinities.  409 


point  of  death  ;  his  son  went  into  the  presence  of  the  nUer 
of  Hades  and  vowed  to  give  his  father  twelve  years ;  the 
next  day  the  old  gentleman  was  much  better,  and  passed  four 
more  winters  on  earth     They  can  borrow  but  cannot  return. 

The  Criminal. — At  the  three  feasts  of  the  year  you 
see  little  boys  and  young  ladies,  with  their  wealth  of  hair 
floating  over  the  shoulders,  and  with  red  robes,  looking 
very  beautiful,  handcuffs  on  their  wrists,  and  chains 
around  their  necks,  passing  to  the  temples.  They  are 
called  criminals.  During  the  season  they  have  been  sick, 
and  have  recorded  a  vow  before  the  god  that  if  they 
recover  they  will  appear  as  criminals  in  the  next  idol 
procession  in  token  of  thanksgiving. 

Kidnapping  Pretty  Women. — A  few  days  since, 
among  our  nearest  neighbours,  a  boy  of  twelve  summers, 
the  only  son  of  his  mother,  acd  she  a  widow,  was  standing 
in  his  door  and  looking  at  an  idol  procession.  That 
night,  with  burning  fever,  he  called,  "Oh!  mother,  the 
god  has  me  by  the  hand  and  is  dragging  me  to  the 
temple."  The  distracted  mother  weirt  to  the  shrine, 
offered  dollars  of  incense,  and  prayed  for  the  life  of  the 
child.  Three  nights  afterwards  in  the  third  watch  we 
were  awaked  by  the  piercing  bitter  cries  of  the  lone 
woman  as  she  wandered  in  the  alleys  calling  back  the 
soul  of  her  loved  boy  ;  she  returned  at  dawn  to  find  him 
cold  and  lifeless. 

The  most  frequent  charge  is  that  the  god,  riding  in  his 
chair,  and  seeing  a  pretty  face,  claims  her  for  his  bride 
(perchance  not  the  first)  in  the  world  of  spirits.  The 
young  wife  or  maiden  sickens  and  dies.  Oh  !  Heathenism, 
Heathenism  ;  what  a  ghastly  spectacle  of  woe  ! 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 


THE   STAR   GODS. 


L' 


^'  T~   OOK  now  towards  heaven  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou 
be  able  to  number  them,"  and  reflect   that  each 


star  has  its  own  star  god,  and  the  reader  will  have  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  polytheism. 

Goddess  of  the  North  Star. — As  the  pole-star  guides 
the  mariner,  so  its  presiding  deity,  called  the  "  Bushel 
Mother,"  is  the  star  of  hope  to  the  Chinese  Church. 
She  has  four  heads  and  thirty-two  hands,  and  each  hand 
holds  a  precious  substance  ;  e.g,^  the  sun's  disc,  the  moon's 
disc,  the  five  chariots,  a  spear,  a  flag,  a  sword,  a  pagoda, 
etc.  As  Kwanyin  is  the  heart  of  Buddhism,  the  Bushel 
Mother  occupies  the  same  relative  position  in  the  Taoist 
religion.  Many  of  the  gentry  in  this  city  have  private 
chapels  where  she  is  regularly  adored  ;  she  rules  the 
books  of  life  and  death,  and  all  who  wish  to  prolong  their 
days  worship  at  her  shrine.  Her  devotees  abstain  from 
animal  food  on  the  third  and  twenty-seventh  of  every 
month.  She  was  said  to  have  been  born  in  India,  and 
her  books  of  devotions  are  in  imitation  of  the  Buddhists  ; 
in  times  of  sickness  the  Taoist  priests  are  invited  to 
implore  the  favour  of  the  goddess  of  the  pole-star. 

Northern  and  Southern  Bushels. — These   are  sons 


The  Star  Gods. 


of  the  "  Bushel  Mother ;  "  the  one  dressed  in  red  is  the 
Southern  Bushel,  and  rules  birth,  and  the  other  in  white 
robes  is  the  Northern  Bushel,  and  rules  death.  A  young 
Esau  once  found  them  on  the  South  Mountain,  under 
a  tree,  playing  chess,  and  by  an  offer  of  venison  his  lease 
of  life  was  extended  from  nineteen  to  ninety -nine. 


"Bushel  Mother." 

Shooting  the  Heavenly  Dog. — In  the  family  sleep- 
ing apartments  hangs  a  picture  of  a  white-faced,  long- 
bearded  man  with  a  little  boy  by  his  side,  and  in  his 
hand  is  a  bow  and  arrow,  with  which  he  is  shooting  the 
Heavenly  Dog.  The  dog  is  the  dog-star,  and  if  the 
"  fate "  of  the  family  is  under  this  star  there  will  be 
no  son,  or  the  child  will  be  short-lived.     Chang  Sien  is 


412         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

shooting  this  dog.  "All  that  is  known  respecting  the 
introduction  of  this  name  into  the  Chinese  pantheon  is 
an  incident  in  the  history  of  Mrs.  Hwa  Jui,  who,  when 
brought  from  Shuh  to  grace  the  harem  of  the  founder 
of  the  Sung  dynasty,  a.d.  960,  is  said  to  have  secretly 


Shooting  the  Heavenly  Dog, 


preserved  the  portrait  of  her  former  lord,  the  Prince  of 
Shuh,  whose  memory  she  passionately  cherished.  Jea- 
lously questioned  by  her  new  consort  respecting  her 
devotion  to  this  picture,  she  declared  it  to  be  the  repre- 
sentation of  a  divine  being  called  Chang  Sien,  the  patron 
of  child-bearing  women." 


The  Star  Gods. 


413 


Happiness,  Office,  and  Age. — This  group  of  star 
deities  is  worshipped  more  than  any  other,  and  this 
scroll  hangs  in  a  hundred  thousand  homes,  for  besides 
happiness,  office,  and  length  of  life,  the  Chinese  only 
pray  for  riches  and  sons.     The  picture  is  worshipped  at 


Stars  of  Happiness,  Office,  and  Age. 

the  feast  in  the  reception  hall  with  the  usual  kneelings 
and  knockings. 

Birthday  services  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  especially 
on  the  sixtieth,  seventieth,  and  eiglitieth  anniversaries 
of  the  natal  day.  Among  merchants,  at  such  a  time,  the 
counters  are  removed  from  the  shop,  and  the  clerks  with 
some   near   relatives    or   friends  join   the    proprietor   in 


414        The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

kneeling  and  chanting  prayers  all  day  long  before  the 
character  "  Age,"'  which  is  gilt  and  is  four  feet  high. 
Sometimes  a  red  scroll  with  one  hundred  golden  "Ages" 
hangs  before  them,  to  which  they  present  thanksgiving 
and  prayers. 

The  Cycle  gods. — There  are  sixty  years  in  a  cycle, 
and  over  each  of  these  presides  a  special  star  deity  ;  a 
man  worships  the  one  which  gave  light  at  the  time  he 
arrived  on  terra  firma,  and  at  each  succeeding  birthday 
he  lights  candles  before  the  image.  Around  the  wall, 
in  life  size,  stand  these  sixty  grotesque 
images,  and  the  skill  of  the  idol- 
makers  was  put  to  the  test  to  devise 
such  a  large  number  of  different- 
looking  men  ;  white,  black,  yellow,  and 
red ;  ferocious  gods  with  vindictive 
eye-balls  popping  out,  and  gentle 
faces  as  expressive  as  a  lump  of  putty ; 
;^  g,r  some  looking  like  men  and  some  like 

women,  and  in  one  temple  I  saw  one 
of  the  sixty  was  in  the  form  of  a  hog,  and  one  like  a  goose. 
Here  is  an  image  with  arms  protruding  out  of  his  eye- 
sockets,  and  eyes  in  the  palms  of  his  hands,  looking  down- 
ward to  see  the  secret  things  within  the  earth.  See  that 
rabbit,  Minerva-like,  jumping  from  the  divine  head;  again, 
a  mud-rat  emerges  from  his  occipital  hiding-place,  and 
lo  !  "a  snake  comes  coiling  from  the  brain  of  another  god," 
— so  the  long  line  serves  as  models  for  an  artist  who 
desires  to  study  the  fantastic. 

The    Twenty-eight    Constellations. — Sacrifices   are 
offered  to  these  by  the  Emperor  on  the  marble  altar  of 


The  Star  Gods. 


415 


Heaven,  and  by  the  mandarins  throughout  the  eighteen 
provinces. 

1.  The  Horned  constellation  is  propitious.  2.  The  Neck 
constellation  betokens  drought.  3.  The  Bottom  constella- 
tion is  unpropitious  ;  if  business  is  started  it  will  end 
in  bankruptcy,  burial  will  be  followed  by  suicide  in  future 


generations,  marriage  by  divorce,  and  a  journey  by 
disasters.  4.  The  Room  constellation  is  lucky.  5.  The 
Heart  constellation   brings  lawsuits   and  imprisonments. 

6.  The   Tail  constellation    promotes    riches    and   honour. 

7.  The  Sieve  constellation  brings  luck  to  the  family 
graves,  and  the  flocks   cover  the    hills.     8.  The    Busiiel 


4i6         The  Dj^agon,  Image ,  and  Demon. 

constellation  is  propitious.  9.  The  Cow  constellation  is 
the  reverse.  10.  The  Female  constellation  is  worst  of 
all;  sisters  are  unchaste  and  brothers  are  as  tigers 
and  leopards ;    hobgoblins    abound    and  diseases   invade. 

11.  The  Empty  constellation  does  not    give  abundance. 

12.  The    Danger    constellation    is    fraught    with    evil. 


Paper  Gods. 


13.  The  House  constellation  is  fortunate,  and  so  is 
(14)  the  Wall  constellation.  15.  The  Astride  constellation 
is  unlucky.  16.  The  Mound  constellation  is  propitious. 
.17  The  Stomach  constellation  is  also  propitious. 
18.  The  Mao  constellation  is  unlucky.  19.  The  End 
constellation  is  fortunate.      20.  The  Bristling  constella- 


The  Star  Gods.  417 


tion  is  the  same.  21.  The  Mixed  constellation  is  un- 
propitious.  2'1.  The  Well  constellation  brings  luck. 
23.  The  Demon  constellation  portends  terror.  24.  The 
Willow  constellation  is  almost  as  bad,  and  {2^^)  the  Star 
constellation  is  not  much  better.  26.  The  Drawn-bow 
constellation  wings  an  arrow  of  peace.  27.  The  Wing 
constellation  in  its  aerial  flight  brings  misfortune. 
28.  The  Kevolving  constellation  brings  prosperity  on 
its  orbit. 

Star  Worship — The  worship  of  the  stars  is  carried  on 
in  Chinese  homes  either  by  astrologers  who  are  invited 
to  conduct  the  services  or  by  Taoist  priests.  In  times 
of  sickness  they  have  ten  paper  star-gods,  five  good  on 
one  side  and  five  bad  on  the  other ;  a  feast  is  placed 
before  them,  and  it  is  supposed  that  when  the  bad 
have  eaten  enough  they  will  take  their  flight  to  the 
south-west ;  the  good  are  propitiated  in  the  hope  that 
they  will  expel  the  evil  stars  and  so  happiness  may 
be  obtained.  The  star  deities  are  adored  by  parents  in 
behalf  of  their  children  ;  they  control  courtship  and 
marriage,  bring  prosperity  or  adversity  in  business,  send 
pestilence  and  war,  regulate  rain-fall  and  drought,  and 
command  angels  and  demons  ;  so  every  event  in  life  is 
determined  by  the  ^'  star  ruler,"  who  at  that  time  from 
the  shining  firmament  manages  the  destinies  of  men  and 
nations.  Astrology  spreads  its  dread  pall  over  night- 
cursed  China. 

Good  and  Bad  Stars.— The  "All  Stars  Board"  of 
divinities  was  constituted  by  Kiang  T'aikung,  who  com- 
missioned his  slain  generals  to  be  rulers  over  the  thirty- 
three  propitious  and  the  seventy-nine  malignant   stars. 

27 


41 8         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

The  Chinese  list  gives  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
lucky  and  unlucky  stars,  which  with  the  sixty  cycle 
stars  and  the  twenty-eight  constellations,  besides  a  vast 
multitude  of  the  diamonds  in  the  sky,  form  a  celestial 
galaxy  for  terrestrial  adoration. 

Of  the  propitious  stars  are  the  Sun  Star,  under  which  a 

man  will  never  be  poor;  the  Heaven-forgiveness  Star,  which 

old  men  worship  four  days  of  the  year,  and  for  which  old 

women  wear  the  "  Forgiveness  Hair-pin ;  "  the  Emperor's 

Favour-star,  adored  by  all  graduates ;  the  Star  of  Healing, 

which  gives  a  fine  practice  to  phy- 

fH^fflSliai^^^lit       sicians  who  worship  it ;  the  Orphan 

tiil&lillli    ^^^^'   ^^^^^^    enables    a   woman    to 

f5*Sita^"%       become    a   man,    and   the    Star   of 

gflitli^"^>3  J.^5;^       Pleasure,  which  decides  on  matches, 

^_^^%'^MjM.^i\       ^^^  ^^s  silver  cords  with  which  to 

'^llf  mill       bind  the   feet  of  those  destined  to 

List  of  Propitious  Stars,    be  lovers.    All  Soochowites  annually 

inquire    of    the    astrologers    if   the 

Star  of  Pleasure  is  to  shine  upon  their  home  ;  under  its 

favouring  light  the  betrothed  maiden  marries,  the  widow 

enjoys  uninterrupted  health,  and  the  child  will  have  all 

the  embroidered  clothes  and  pretty  toys  he  desires. 

To  worship  the  unpropitious  stars,  a  lucky  day  on 
which  the  lucky  star-gods  rule  is  chosen,  that  they  may 
accept  the  sacrifice  and  drive  away  the  bad  stars,  so  the 
good  and  the  evil  in  the  celestial  abodes  are  continually 
at  strife  as  they  are  within  the  heart  of  man.  During 
the  sacrifice  they  put  a  fish,  called  the  "  hen  fish,"  in  a 
tub  of  water  under  the  table,  and  suppose  that  the 
malignant   star  rulers    enter   it   and  leave,  as   this   fish 


7 lie  Shir  Gods.  419 

worships  the  stars,  and  should  it  forget  any  night  to  say 
its  prayers,  the  next  day  it  is  trapped.  Thus  astrology 
is  but  a  species  of  witchcraft  or  demonolatry. 

Some  of  the  fierce  stars  are  the  Morning  Star,  which 
if  not  worshipped  father  or  mother  will  die  that  year  ; 
the  White-tiger  Star,  under  which  misfortune  will  attend 
every  undertaking,  the  ruler  of  which  was  first  killed  and 
then  canonized  by  Kiang  T'aikung ;  the  Piercing-bone 
Star,  which  produces  rheumatism ;  the  Balustrade  Star, 
the  promoter  of  lawsuits  and  litigations ;  the  Thief  Star, 
which   is    "  three-handed ; "    the    Three-corpse    Star    for 


List  of  Evil  stars. 

suicides ;  the  Iron-broom  Star  of  ill  fame  ;  the  Ten-evils' 
Star,  which  sends  to  prison ;  the  Peach-blossom  Star, 
producing  lunacy  ;  the  Sackcloth  Star,  betokening  mourn- 
ing ;  the  Knife  Star,  an  execution ;  the  P^ive  Poor  Stars, 
penury ;  the  Broken  Star  is  for  widows ;  the  Floating  and 
Drowning  Star  for  the  perishing;  and  the  Male  and 
Female-wrong  Star,  under  which,  if  a  young  lady  is  born, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  change  her  age,  for  no  man 
would  marry  her,  because  her  father  or  mother-in-law 
would  immediately  be  laid  in  the  grave,  but  if  she  puts 
her  birthday  in  another  year,  she  will  not  die  an  old  maid. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

THE   IMMORTALS. 

THE  tales  of  the  genii  or  the  immortals  found  in 
Chinese  books  satisfy  the  national  craving  for 
fictitious  literature,  and  might  be  termed  "divine  fiction;" 
it  also  enables  the  writer  to  be  graphic,  as  he  is  not 
hampered  by  natural  laws,  for  in  an  instant  he  can  divest 
his  characters  of  mortality  and  let  them,  invisible  and 
immaterial,  soar  through  space,  so  that  in  the  descrip- 
tions there  is  a  decided  air  of  the  marvellous.  Let  the 
characters  of  some  noted  novelist  be  canonized,  and  let 
men  adore  and  pray  to  them,  and  we  have  w^iat  Taoist 
romance  has  given  to  a  people  longing  for  something 
better  than  flesh  and  blood.  This  state  of  terrestrial 
immortality  the  doctors  of  this  religion  substitute  for 
the  Buddhist  Paradise,  and  to  this  they  invite  their 
devotees,  though  practically  the  ranks  are  full,  and  it  is 
not  supposed  that  men  of  this  age  will  attain  the  joys 
of  the  gods  of  the  hills  and  forests.  "  The  primitive 
Chinese  tales  of  hermits  and  genii  have  perpetuated  the 
recollection  of  many  fabulous  and  semi-fabulous  in- 
dividuals belonging  to  the  early  centuries  of  the  nation's 
history.  Among  them  are  not  a  few  hermits  and 
alchemists,  men  of  rigid  morals  and  having  a  fondness 


TJie  IiiiDiortals.  421 

for  solitude,  seekers  of  the  plant  that  confers  immortality, 
and  students  of  the  hidden  love  of  mystics,  and  magicians 
who  under  the  title  of  seen  jin  form  the  mass  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Heaven." 

P'eng  Lai  Islands. — One  of  the  most  beautiful  cities 
in  China,  embowered  in  trees  and  with  a  girdle  of  hills, 
is  Tungchow,  upon  the  north  side  of  the  Shantung 
promontory,  the  county  seat  of  the  P'eng  Lai  district. 
Its  poetic  name  is  taken  from  the  promontory  overlooking 
the  Gulf  of  Pechelle,  from  whence  an  emperor  in  ancient 
days  despatched  an  expedition  in  search  of  the  P'eng  Lai 
islands,  the  abodes  of  the  blissful  immortals.  "  These 
islands,  it  was  believed  in  the  third  century  B.C.,  were  to 
be  found  in  the  Eastern  Sea,  opposite  to  the  coast  of 
China.  They  are  all  inhabited  by  genii,  whose  lustrous 
forms  are  nourished  upon  the  gems  which  lie  scattered 
upon  their  shores,  or  with  the  fountain  of  life  which 
flows  perennially  for  their  enjoyment.*'  This  is  the 
Eastern  Paradise  of  Taoists.  There  is  also  a  mountain 
in  the  western  province  in  Szecheun,  called  Mount  Ts'ing 
Chen,  which  "is  reputed  in  Taoist  legend  as  one  of  the 
sanctuaries  of  the  genii,  and  it  is  said  to  possess  seventy- 
two  caves.  The  Taoist  books  call  this  mountain  the 
Fifth-cave  Heaven,  and  describe  it  as  the  general  place 
of  assemblage  for  the  gods  and  genii." 

Five  Kinds  of  Immortals. — There  are  five  classes 
of  genii  or  supernatural  beings.  I.  Demon  Immortals  ; 
"disembodied  spirits,  having  no  resting-place  in  the 
abodes  either  of  mankind  or  the  happier  immortals,  denied 
alike  metempsychosis  and  eternal  bliss."  2.  Human 
Immortals ;  "  men  who  have  succeeded  in  freeing  them- 


42  2         The  Dragon,  linage,  and  Demon. 


selves  from  perturbation  of  spirit  and  the  infirmities  of 
the  flesh."  3.  Earthly  Immortals ;  "  human  beings  who 
have  attained  to  immortality  in  the  existing  world." 
4.  Deified  Immortals  ;  "  immortalized  spirits  who  have 
bidden  farewell  to  earth  and  have  departed  to  roam 
among  the  Three  Islands  of  the  blessed."  5.  Celestial 
Immortals ;  "  those  who  have  attained  to  consummate 
purity  and  perpetual  life  in  Heaven." 

The  Eight  Immortals. — 
The  Eight  Immortals  are 
favourite  characters  of  Chinese 
romance,  and  special  objects 
of  adoration.  An  artistic 
method  is  to  embroider  them 
on  silk  and  hang  as  a  pair  of 
scrolls.  Leu  Chen  Yang  has 
been  noticed  in  the  chapter 
on  Medical  Divinities. 

Han  Chunglee — This,  the 
first  of  the  genii,  is  variously 
placed  in  the  Han  and  Chow 
dynasties.  As  to  his  appear- 
ance, he  is  full  set,  corporeally  considered,  has  a  red  face, 
long  hair,  and  two  bunches  of  hair  on  the  sides  of  his 
head.  "He  is  said  to  have  encountered  the  Patriarch 
of  the  Genii,  who  revealed  to  him  the  mystic  formula 
of  longevity  and  the  secret  of  the  powder  of  transmutation 
and  of  magic  craft.  He  eventually  became  admitted 
among  the  genii,  and  has  appeared  from  time  to  time  on 
earth  as  the  messenger  of  Heaven." 

T'ih  Kwalee. — He  was  one  of  the  gentry,  but  one  day, 


Han  Chunglee. 


The  Ininiortals. 


423 


when  his  "  spiritual  man  "  was  out  roaming  around,  a  wild 
beast  ate  his  body,  so  when  the  spirit  returned  it  found 
only  the  skeleton,  but  fortunately  near  by  was  a  beggar's 
corpse,  black  and  lame  ;  this  he  took  as  a  substitute  for 
his  own  body,  and  always  walked  with  an  iron  staff,  so  he 
was  popularly  known  as  Iron-staff  Lee,  or  Mr.  Lee  with 
the  iron  staff.  The  breath  out  of  the  gourd  on  his  back 
could  in  the  heavens  be  turned  into  his  original  body. 


T'ih  Kwalee. 


Chang  Kwulao. 


As  a  philosopher,  "  he  devoted  himself  wholly  to  the  study 
of  Taoist  lore,  in  which  he  was  instructed  by  the  sage 
Laotsze  himself,  who  at  times  descended  to  earth,  and 
at  times  used  to  summon  his  pupil  to  interviews  with 
him  in  the  celestial  spheres." 

Chang  Kwulao — He  was  fond  of  legerdemain,  "  and 
performed  wonderful  feats  of  necromancy."  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  contemporary  of  the  first  emperors,  Yao  and 
Shun,  and  though  his  years  were  beyond  those  of  Methu- 


424         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

selab,  he  appeared  not  over  fifty.  He  raade  a  paper 
donkey,  which  by  a  breath  and  the  sprinkling  of  water, 
became  a  living  animal,  and  could  carry  him  a  thousand 
miles  a  day.  This  erratic  genius  rode  backwards  to 
show  how  the  Chinese  looked  backwards  and  not 
forwards. 

Han    Siangtsze. — He   was    a    nephew    of  the   great 
scholar  Han  Yii ;  left  home  when  a  child,  and  returned  on 


Han  Siangtsze. 


Lan  Ts'aiho. 


the  birthday  of  his  uncle,  who  inquired,  "  What  have  you 
been  doing  all  these  years  ?  "  He  replied,  "  I  have  been 
engaged  in  transcendental  study,  and  have  learned  the 
magical  arts."  As  a  proof  he  dashed  a  glass  of  wine  on 
the  floor,  which  was  immediately  changed  into  a  nosegay  ; 
and  upon  each  flower  there  was  a  delicate  character, 
making  a  couplet,  which  was  a  prophecy  in  reference  to 
Han  Yii ;  this  was  shortly  fulfilled.  It  is  said  that  Han 
Siangtsze  having  been    carried   up    to   the    supernatural 


The  Inivwrtals. 


425 


peach  tree  of  the   genii,  fell  from  its  branches,  and  in 
descending  entered  upon  the  state  of  immortality. 

Lan  Ts  aiho. — '•  A  legendary  being,  usually  reputed 
as  a  female.  She  wandered  abroad,  clad  in  a  tattered  blue 
gown,  with  one  foot  shoeless  and  the  other  shod,  wearing 
in  summer  a  wadded  garment,  and  in  winter  choosing  snow 
and  ice  for  a  sleeping-place.  In  this  guise  this  weird 
person  begged  a  livelihood  in  the  streets,  waving  a  wand 


Ts'ao  Kwohk'iu. 


Ho  Sienkoo. 


aloft,  and  chanting  a  doggerel  verse  denunciatory  of  fleet- 
ing life  and  its  delusive  pleasures,"  hoping  by  this  means 
to  rectify  the  conduct  of  men. 

Ts'ao  Kwohk'iu. — He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  one  of 
the  emperors  of  the  Sung  dynasty.  He  was  known  by  a 
bad  nickname,  which  he  obtained  from  his  brother.  He 
is  one  of  the  characters  of  Taoist  fable. 

Ho  Sienkoo. — This  maiden  immortal,  "when  fourteen 
years  old,  dreamed  that  a  spirit  gave  her  instruction  in  the 


426         The  D^^agon^  Image,  and  Demon. 

art  of  obtaining  immortality,  to  achieve  which  she  was  to 
eat  the  powder  of  mother-of-pearl.  She  complied  with 
this  injunction,  and  vowed  herself  to  a  life  of  virginity. 
Her  days  were  thenceforth  passed  in  solitary  wanderings 
among  the  hills,  where  she  passed  to  and  fro  as  though 
endowed  with  wings,  returning  to  her  home  at  night  with 
the  herbs  she  gathered  during  her  lonely  pilgrimages. 
She  gradually  renounced  the  use  of  the  ordinary  food  of 


Gods  ot  Marriage. 

mortals,  and  the  fame  of  her  wondrous  mode  of  life  having 
reached  the  Empress  Wu,  that  sovereign  summoned  her 
to  the  court ;  but  while  journeying  thither  she  suddenly 
disappeared  from  mortal  view.  She  is  said  to  have  been 
seen  once  more,  in  a.d.  750,  floating  upon  a  cloud  of  many 
colours,  and  again,  some  years  later,  she  was  revealed  to 
human  sight  in  the  city  of  Canton."  This  young  lady  is 
the  last  of  the  Eight  Immortals. 

Gods  of  Marriage. — Peace  and  Union  are  their  appro- 


The  Immortals.  427 


priate  names,  and  they  are  only  worshii)ped  while  the 
marriage  ceremony  is  being  performed.  Peace  and  Union 
are  two  little  boys  with  straight  hair,  one  holding  in  his 
hand  a  lily,  and  the  other  a  spherical  casket.  "  Ho '"  for 
peace  and  "  ho  "  for  lily  are  the  same  in  sound  ;  "  heh  " 
for  union  and  ''  heh  "  for  casket  also  sound  alike,  which 
symphony  is  considered  very  propitious.  In  contrast  to 
this  happy  combination,  on  each  side  hang  the  dragon  and 
tiger  scrolls  as  a  warning  to  the  happy  couple. 

The  Immortal  Ma.— Ma  Koo  is  the  only  immortal 
that  Soochow  has  furnished  the  pantheon,  and  his  temple 
is  outside  the  south  gate  of  the  city. 

Two  Brothers  and  the  Dog. — It  is  related  that  Wei 
Pehyang,  "  having  devoted  himself  in  a  mountain  retreat 
to  the  preparation  of  the  elixir  of  immortality,  at  length 
completed  the  magic  powder,  which,  by  way  of  experi- 
ment, he  administered  to  a  dog.  The  animal  instantly  fell 
dead,  but,  undismayed,  Wei  Pehyang  himself  swallowed  a 
portion  of  the  drug,  and  likewise  expired  immediately. 
His  elder  brother,  still  confiding  in  the  virtues  of  the 
elixir,  next  swallowed  a  dose,  with  the  same  result.  The 
third  brother  remarking  that  if  this  were  the  result  of 
the  search  after  immortality  it  seemed  better  to  leave  the 
quest  alone,  went  to  prepare  for  the  interment  of  the 
bodies.  He  had  scarcely  turned  his  back  when  Wei 
Pehyang,  arose,  and  completing  the  mixture  of  his  drugs, 
placed  a  portion  in  the  mouth  of  his  brother  and  the  dog, 
both  of  whom  at  once  revived.  The  two  brothers  and  the 
dog  forthwith  entered  upon  immortality,  and  became 
enrolled  among  the  ranks  of  the  genii." 

The  Rosebud  Immortal. — During  the  Sung  dynasty 


428         The  Di^agon^  Image,  and  Demon, 

there  was  a  little  boy  named  Lei  Hai.  He  is  represented 
in  the  pictures  with  a  string  of  gold  cash  in  his  hand  and 
a  three-legged  frog  bj  his  side.  In  the  processions  they 
make  his  doll  image  of  rosebuds  and  seat  him  on  the 
pole,  to  which  is  suspended  the  great  gong,  borne  by 
two  men,  so  that  he  has  a  happy  ride. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

AFTER  DEATH,  THE  SEVEN-SEVENS. 

~TTT"HENEVER  the  subject  of  death  is  mentioned  a 
'  ^  Chinaman  invariably  laughs.  It  is  a  difficult 
phenomenon  to  account  for,  save  on  the  general  principle 
of  antipodes,  for  when  we  hear  that  a  friend  has  died  the 
tears  naturally  fall.  They  never  use  the  word  "  death," 
but  substitute  an  euphemism, — "  gone,''  "  passed  away," 
"returned  home;"  poetically — ''travelling  by  the  Yellow 
Spring,"  and  prosaically,  in  more  common  parlance,  "  stuck 
up  the  pig-tail."  They  avoid  every  unlucky  allusion  to 
the  subject,  and  the  Chinese  are  truly  the  people  "who 
through  fear  of  death  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage."  With  many  it  is  "  the  great  unknown."  The 
preparation  for  death  is  often,  according  to  their  ideas, 
attended  to.  The  question  is  often  asked,  "  Old  man, 
are  you  prepared  for  death  ?  "  and  the  stereotyped  reply 
is,  "  Oh  yes,  I  have  my  clothes  and  coffin."  "  Have  you 
any  one  to  rely  on  after  death  ?  "  "  Yes,  I  have  a  son 
and  a  grandson."  In  many  a  Chinese  parlour  you  see 
the  old  man's  coffin  standing  in  one  corner  and  the  old 
woman's  in  the  other  ;  large,  black,  uninviting  places  of 
repose,  made  of  wood  three  inches  thick  ;  in  their  esteem 
our  neat  caskets  are  "  beggar  coffins,"  because  the  wood 
of  which  they  are  made  is  so  thin. 


430        The  Dragon,  Image,  a7td  Demon. 

Do  the  dead  live  ?  There  are  no  rehgions  which  pay 
more  attention  to  the  state  of  the  soul  after  death  than 
do  Buddhism  and  Taoism.  The  spirits  of  the  departed  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  living,  and  it  is  a  convenient  way  of 
passing  through  this  world  with  no  care  for  the  life  to 
come,  feeling  secure  that  relatives  and  priests  will  supply 
all  necessities  in  the  unknown  land.  There  are  nearly 
fifteen  special  services  —  think  of  fifteen  funerals!  — 
during  the  seven-sevens  or  the  forty-nine  days  after 
death. 

The  Corpse.— The  body  of  the  dead  is  laid  out, 
generally  in  the  front  room  of  the  house,  on  boards 
resting  on  benches ;  one  foot  is  placed  in  a  peck  basket 
(to  detect  any  signs  of  life),  paper  sycee  is  laid  over  the 
eyes,  incense  burned  at  the  feet,  and  a  pavilion,  like  a 
mosquito  net,  is  made,  behind  which  mourning  women 
utter  loud  and  bitter  lamentations.  The  first  ceremony 
after  death  is  to  burn  a  suit  of  clothes  and  a  cotton 
comforter  for  the  departed  to  use  in  Hades.  As  the  sick 
man  approaches  the  dark  river  his  friends  make  ready 
quantities  of  ting  or  ''joss  paper,"  which  is  burnt  when 
his  pulse  ceases  to  beat,  so  that  the  soul  on  entering 
the  other  world  will  not  be  penniless.  ''  The  coffin  and 
burial  clothes  form  most  important  items  in  the  list  of 
things  deemed  necessary  for  the  respectability,  comfort, 
and  repose  of  a  man  in  the  spirit  world.  The  clothes 
must  be  new,  with  satin  cap  and  boots  ;  the  corpse  dressed 
as  if  for  a  feast.  A  man's  respectability  in  the  other 
world  is  as  much  affected  by  his  personal  appearance  as 
in  this  life.  Hence  the  relatives  and  family  of  a  deceased 
person  often  impoverish  themselves  for  years,  in  order  to 


After  Death,  the  Seven  Sevens.  431 

provide  a  decent  burial."  A  cup  of  water  is  placed  at 
the   door,  to  help  the  spirit  to  clear  its  throat. 

In  some  of  the  cities  of  North  China  whenever  a  death 
occurs  the  god  of  the  precinct  is  informed.  The  friends 
take  an  earthen  vessel  of  millet  gruel  and  sprinkle  it 
about  the  temple,  giving  a  fee  to  the  priest,  who  keeps 
a  register  of  the  deaths  which  occur,  and,  in  a  recent 
cholera  epidemic  in  Tungchow,  a  person  could  find  out 
the  approximate  number  of  deaths  daily  by  inquiring  at 
the  T'ldee  Miao. 

The  next  point  requiring  attention  is  the  selection  of  a 
site  for  a  grave,  which  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of 

Fungshuy. — Fungshiiy,  literally  "  wind  and  water," 
or  "  the  influences  of  wind  and  water,"  is  the  most 
prominent  of  the  superstitions  ingrained  into  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Chinese.  It  does  not  fall  within  the 
limits  of  this  volume  to  discuss  its  origin  and  growth, 
its  wide-spread  influence,  the  rude  elements  of  natural 
science  it  embraces,  or  how  it  retards  progress,  forbids 
railways,  closes  coal  mines,  prevents  enterprise,  checks 
new  efforts  at  advancement,  "  interrupts  the  free  thought 
of  the  people,  and  keeps  them  wrapped  in  the  mummy 
folds  of  ancient  prejudices."  It  is  only  to  deal  with 
fungshuy  as  it  touches  upon  the  domain  of  religion, 
especially  the  rites  practised  concerning  the  dead  and 
the  choice  of  a  location  for  the  tomb ;  in  this  respect  it 
is  a  "  black  art." 

1.  The  first  point  to  be  noted  is  the  relation  between 
the  living  and  the  dead  ;  the  quiet  of  the  one  ensuring 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  other,  and  the  unrest  of 
the  dead  causing  them  to  wander  back  home  "  and  avenge 


432         The  Di^agon,  Image ^  and  Demon. 

themselves  by  withholding  from  the  living  prosperity  and 
happiness."  "  It  is  therefore  considered  a  matter  of  prime 
importance  in  selecting  a  place  for  the  family  grave, 
that  it  should  be  done  with  reference  to  conserving  the 
interest  and  happiness  of  both  parties." 

2.  The  Chinese  notice  that  when  cold  blasts  blow 
from  the  north  the  autumn  leaves  of  the  forest  fall 
to  the  ground,  and  that  nature  puts  on  the  attire  of 
death,  but  when  the  gentle  zephyrs  of  spring  with  their 
genial  influences  blow  from  the  south  the  earth  is 
carpeted  with  grass,  the  trees  put  forth  their  foliage, 
and  the  hills  are  fragrant  with  flowers,  so  they  infer  that 
baneful  influences  proceed  from  the  north,  and  that  the 
south  is  benign,  genial,  and  animating.  Thus  the  grave 
to  be  propitious  must  be  on  the  southern  side  of  the  hill, 
and  the  horse-shoe  embankment,  which  surrounds  the 
mound,  must  have  its  opening  to  the  south  ;  if  it  has 
not  the  rising  bluff  in  the  rear,  a  cluster  of  trees  will 
act  as  a  shield. 

3.  Another  point  in  fungshuy  is  the  relation  between 
the  five  planets  and  the  five  elements ;  the  rotary  course 
of  Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  Mercury,  and  Saturn  find  their 
counterparts  in  the  permutations  of  wood,  fire,  metal, 
water,  and  earth,  by  which  names  these  planets  are  called. 
With  this  is  the  relation  between  the  planets  and  the 
hills ;  the  terrestrial  being  a  dim  reflex  of  the  splendid 
scenery  of  heaven's  firmament,  and  the  skill  of  the  fung- 
shuy  professor  or  geomancer  lies  in  being  able  at  a 
glance  to  say  that  this  mountain  with  a  flat  summit  is 
wood,  and  the  peak  jutting  clear  and  sharp  is  fire, — the 
tomb  must  not  lie  between  these  two  incompatibles. 


After  Death,  the  Seven-Sevens.  433 

4.  A  fourth  consideration  is  the  position  of  the 
dragon  and  the  tiger.  "  The  luck-bringing  site  must 
have  the  dragon  on  the  left  and  the  tiger  on  the  right. 
The  geomancer  must  determine  by  his  skill  which 
elevation  is  the  dragon  and  which  ridge  the  tiger,  and 
by  his  compass  the  favourable  point  of  conjunction  where 
the  ashes  of  the  dead  requiescat  in  pace" 

5.  By  a  grave  the  course  of  the  rippling  brook  is 
noted,  and  the  direction  of  the  current  is  taken.  "  Riches 
and  rank  are  personified  by  the  undisturbed  flow  of  the 
stream,  and  if  due  care  is  taken  by  the  geomancer,  a 
perpetual  stream  of  honour  and  wealth  may  be  expected 
to  flow  into  the  possession  of  the  family."  This  is  the 
element  of  shuy  or  "  water." 

6.  The  element  of  fung  or  "  wind "  is  equally  im- 
portant. "  A  grave  should  not  have  a  hollow  near  it. 
The  wind  will  blow  into  the  grave  from  that  hollow  and 
gradually  disturb  the  bones  and  the  coffin."  In  ten 
years  they  will  be  one-half  turned  over,  and  in  twenty 
years  entirely  turned  over.  An  outer  wind  must  not 
invade  the  chambers  of  the  dead  for  fear  the  family 
fortunes  will  be  overturned,  so  the  aim  of  the  geomancer 
must  be  to  find  a  spot  where  "  the  cold  air  which  issues 
from  the  earth  is  hidden,  and  if  there  is  no  hollow  there 
will  be  no  outlet  by  which  the  pernicious  wind  will 
disturb  the  dead." 

7.  One  of  the  most  unfortunate  circumstances  is  for 
a  snake  or  a  turtle  to  issue  from  the  grave  ;  the  living 
exclaim,  "  Alas !  we  are  ruined."  This  is  equal  to 
opium  and  the  T'aipings. 

8.  Greomancy    became  a  profession    about    A.D.     1200. 

28 


434         ^/^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

The  geomancers  or  fiing-shuy  doctors  try  to  find  how 
the  two  (magnetic)  currents  of  the  earth  run,  the  one 
male  and  the  other  female,  the  one  positive  and  the 
other  negative,  the  one  favourable  and  the  other  un- 
favourable.    The  coffin    must    be   placed  in   the  line    of 


Spreading  the  Lamps. 

these  currents,  not  athwart  them,  so  as  not  to  disturb 
the  repose  of  the  soul.  If  the  Chinese  are  priest-ridden, 
they  are  no  less  the  dupes  of  the  geomancers,  for  these 
professionals  hold  the  "  keys  of  the  grave."  They  will  say 
to  the  elder  brother,  "  If  your  father  is  buried  this  year, 
it  will  be  propitious  to  the  younger  brother  but  sad  for 


After  Death,  the  Seven- Sevens.  435 

you,"  and  he,  of  course,  will  not  consent  to  the  burial. 
The  next  year  is  favourable  to  the  elder  but  destructive 
to  the  younger,  so  the  coffin  remains  at  home.  The 
third  year  they  are  perhaps  short  of  funds.  During  the 
fourth  year,  it  may  be,  the  geomancer  finds  a  plot  of 
ground  which  he  can  purchase  cheap  and  sell  dear, — 
there  the  grave  must  be.  So  it  is  seen  that  "  the  filial 
piety  of  China  is  less  sincere  than  is  by  many  supposed  ; 
it  is  more  selfish  than  generous,  more  calculating  than 
spontaneous,  and  is  deadened  by  the  prevailing  desire 
for  riches  and  rank." 

The  Four  Death 'Ceremonies.  The  Lamps. — The 
Chinese  put  a  carpet  on  the  floor,  and  on  it  with  rice  draw 
the  picture  of  an  immortal.  Then  they  put  little  hillocks 
of  rice  around,  21,  35,  or  49  in  number,  and  a  lamp  on 
each.  This  is  to  give  light  in  Hades.  The  oil  and  rice 
are  the  perquisites  of  the  priests. 

Bathing  the  Soul.  — The  priest  takes  a  basin  of  water, 
a  paper  man  representing  the  soul  of  the  deceased,  and 
a  willow  branch,  with  which  he  sprinkles  the  paper  man, 
then  gently  wipes  with  a  towel. 

Crossing  the  Bridge. — Chairs  and  tables  piled  up 
form  the  piers,  and  the  chasm  is  spanned  by  a  paper 
bridge.  The  priests  with  gongs  and  cymbals  pass  under 
the  arch  several  times,  then  make  the  paper  man  walk 
over  the  bridge. 

Scattering  the  Cash. — According  to  the  number  of 
the  priests,  bunches  of  cask  on  red  cord  are  placed  on 
a  waiter,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  small  cake  with  a 
flower  on  it.  Each  priest  takes  a  string  and  jerks  it 
so  as  to  scatter  the  easily  which  symbolizes  the  scattering 


43^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

of  any  unknown  enmities  in   the  spirit-world ;  after  this 
there  is  a  grab  game  for  the  copper. 

Ornamental  Hangings  at  Funerals.  —  Paganism 
dehghts  in  the  ornate,  so  when  the  priests  assemble  to 
pray  for  souls  in  purgatory  the  hall  is  ''  decorated  in  a 
gorgeous  manner  with  temple  regalia,  emblems  of 
authority   in   the    spirit- world,"    and    ornamented    with 


Paper  Bridge. 


embroidered  scrolls,  the  handiwork  of  Chinese  women. 
The  table  is  covered  with  red,  there  are  long  streamers  of 
exquisite  workmanship,  the  "  pleasure-door  "  is  a  curtain 
with  needlework  of  gold,  the  dragon  tablet  is  of  richest 
silk,  a  picture  of  Buddha  adorns  the  wall,  while  lying 
around  are  drums,  bells,  cymbals,  gongs,  wooden  fish-heads, 
etc.  The  Buddhists  on  the  last  day  have  seven  crowns 
for  Buddha,  five  kinds  of  food,  a  water-jar,  rice-box,  file, 


After  Death,  the  Seven-Sevens.  437 

knife,  etc.  The  Taoists  have  spirit-ta])lets,  they  ^vave 
flags  and  brandish  swords,  bring  a  big  gong,  a  big  drum, 
and  a  big  bell,  which  the  people  call  "the  three  big 
noises  ;  "  the  whole  services  are  much  like  theatricals. 

Tossing  the  Cymbals. — Funeral    services    in   China 
are  entertaining  as  well  as  mournful.     Tne  Taoists  have 


Masses  for  the  Dead. 


quite  a  sleight  of  hand  in  tossing  up  the  cymbals  and 
keeping  quite  a  number  in  the  air  at  one  time,  which 
is  a  pleasant  diversion  in  the  midst  of  sad  scenes. 

Masses  for  the  Dead. — Here  is  the  chief  source  of 
revenue  to  heathen  religions,  and  the  constant  employ- 
ment of  their  priesthood,  the  amount  paid  being  accord- 


43^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Denton. 

ing  to  the  wealth  of  the  family.  During  the  seven  weeks, 
the  first  and  fifth  are  necessarily  Buddhist  and  the  last 
Taoist,  the  others  at  option.  Each  day  a  sumptuou  s 
feast  is  ordered  from  the  restaurant  for  the  priests. 
There  are  generally  five,  seven,  or  nine  of  them,  but  if 
it  is  a  great  funeral  there  may  be  three  hundred  priests, 
who,  "  attired  in  richly  embroidered  imperial  robes,  march 
in  measured  pace,  chanting  their  incantations.  This 
ceremony  of  getting  a  man  out  of  purgatory  is  continued 
day  and  night,  enlivened  at  intervals  by  music  and 
gong."  After  the  services  have  been  continued,  the  priests 
in  the  name  of  the  regents  of  Hades  strike  for  higher 
wages,  in  order  to  finish  the  work  of  emancipation,  and 
when  they  get  them  "they  return  to  their  work  with 
renewed  zeal.  The  chanting  is  more  energetic,  the  step 
is  much  quicker,  and  the  ringing  of  the  abbot's  bell  more 
frequent,  and  ere  the  sun  sets  a  fearful  din  of  gongs  and 
fire-crackers  announces  the  deliverance  of  the  captive." 

At  the  Temple. — In  the  temples  an  assistant  is 
employed  to  toll  the  funeral  bell  for  forty-nine  days  ; 
it  is  dark  in  the  land  of  spirits,  but  each  stroke  of  the 
bell  causes  light  to  flash  in  the  chambers  of  Tartarus. 

In  addition  to  the  masses  for  the  dead,  the  sons  and 
relatives  go  to  the  city  temple  to  burn  incense,  as  the 
deceased  is  in  the  same  county  in  Hades  ;  also  on  the 
last  day  the  friends  rub  the  posts  of  the  temple,  for 
fear  the  gods  have  stuck  the  soul  of  the  dead  to  them. 

The  Noxious  god.— Called  the  Sen  Shin,  and  the 
time  of  his  worship  called  the  tsih  sen ;  the  day  is  fixed 
two  or  three  weeks  after  death  by  the  Taoists  ;  this  is  the 
most  important  service  during  the  seven  weeks,  and  is 


After  Death,  the  Seven-Sevens.  439 

never  omitted  even  by  the  poorest.  The  "  noxious  god," 
who  is  in  the  form  of  a  cock,  takes  the  dead  man's  soul 
and  brings  it  back  home.  One  feast  is  spread  for  the 
*' noxious  god,"  and  another  for  the  returning  souk  Upon 
the  bed  on  which  the  man  died  must  be  placed  a  full 
suit  of  clothes.  The  evil  deity  brings  the  man's  soul,  and 
it  is  the  part  of  the  Taoist  priests  to  dismiss  the  "  noxious 
god  "  and  retain  the  soul,  which  after  an  hour's  entertain- 
ment is  allowed  to  leave.  The  day  previous  all  the  nails 
in  the  house  must  be  covered  with  red  paper,  to  keep  the 
''  noxious  god  "  from  hanging  the  soul  upon  a  nail.  See 
Picture,  "  The  Breath  of  Death,"  on  page  458. 

Remembering  the  Dead.— Before  the  body  is  laid 
in  the  coffin,  an  image  of  Amita  is  placed  on  the  table, 
and  a  string  of  cash  is  taken  from  the  god's  hand  and 
placed  in  the  hand  of  the  deceased,  then  the  priests 
and  the  sons  try  by  prayer  to  get  the  lost  soul  out  of  sin 
to  the  Western  Paradise. 

Feast  to  the  Soul. — It  is  made  during  the  first  three 
weeks  after  death,  and  it  is  considered  that  the  dead 
person  alone  eats.  The  picture  of  the  goddess  of  mercy 
is  on  the  table,  priests  and  relatives  worship  and  have 
floral  decorations. 

A  Priest  Next  Time — The  Buddhists  have  a  service 
by  which  men  may  go  to  Heaven  after  the  next  trans- 
migration. During  the  fortvrnine  days,  a  company  of 
priests  hold  a  five  days'  worship,  when  an  abbot  takes 
a  yellow  robe  of  paper  and  a  paper  rice-bowl  and  puts 
them  in  a  paper  trunk  ;  then  the  priests  march  three 
times  around  the  coffin,  and  the  abbot  commands  the 
spirit  to  be   a  good  Buddhist, — the  dead  man  after  tlie 


440         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 


metempsychosis  returns  a  priest,  who  at  death  may  go 
to  Heaven. 

The  Lasc  Ceremony  is  called  hang-hyiang.  On  the 
forty-ninth  day  they  have  an  abbot  to  go  to  the  largest 
temple,  whether  Buddhist  or  Taoist,  to  burn  the  message 
to  Buddha,  or  to  one  of  the  Taoist  gods.  The  abbot 
in  his  official  regalia  rides  in  an  open  chair,  preceded 
by  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  bearers  of  flags  and 
streamers,  a  man  carrying  the  ''  fairy  crane,"  and  a 
company  of  musicians,  and  when  they  arrive  at  the 
temple  the  message  to  the  throne  is  burnt  to  inform 
the  gods  that  the  ceremonies  are  complete.  It  is  done 
mostly  for  effect  as  a  street  parade.  See  Chapter  XXIII., 
Picture  of  the  Fairy  Crane. 

Magic  Credentials. — The  hih  is  an  official  passport 
to  travel  in  the  foreign  kingdom  of  Hades.  The  Taoist 
priests  go  to  Chang,  the  magician,  and  get  a  supply  with 
which  they  trade  with  the  people.  The  rank  and  title 
is  according  to  the  amount  of  money  paid  by  the  living, 
and  secures  freedom  from  litigation  in  the  other  world, 
as,  without  this  passport,  a  poor  man  would  be  unable 
to  redress  wrongs  upon  one  of  rank.  Sometimes  a 
mandarin's  batton  for  the  land  of  shade  is  purchased 
during  life,  but  generally  the  rich  obtain  it  for  their 
friends  soon  after  death.  After  the  credentials  are  made 
out  the  priests  perform  high  mass  for  the  dead,  confess 
the  sins  of  his  life,  and  obtain  forgiveness  for  him,  and 
the  credentials  are  burned.  They  take  the  ashes  in  a 
yellow  bag,  go  first  to  the  temple  of  the  Water  Immortal 
to  worship,  and  afterwards  the  yellow  bag  is  tied  to  the 
tail  of  a  carp,  and  he  is  turned  loose  in  the  canal. 


/«ill|i'5i|iif;'Ilf |ii||i' 


442         The  Dj^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

Funeral  Procession. — When  music  is  heard  in  the 
streets,  even  the  natives  cannot  tell  from  the  sound 
whether  it  is  a  coffin  or  a  bride  passing  by.  The  picture 
represents  the  procession  to  the  grave,  with  the  banners, 
gong,  red  mandarin  umbrella,  fan,  official  sign-boards, 
musicians,  Buddhist  priests,  Taoist  priests,  happy-spirit 
pavilion,  soul  sedan-chair  having  the  tablet  within,  the 
lanterns,  and  the  coffin.  When  the  soul  sedan  returns, 
the  tablet  is  exchanged  for  a  "  divine  tablet,"  which  is 
placed  on  the  "  divine  seat ;  "  the  priests  chant  words  of 
comfort,  and  the  ceremonies  are  over. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


DEMONOLATRY. 


rr^HIS  chapter  does  not  embrace  the  whole  of  the 
-■-  subject,  for  scattered  throughout  the  book  are  the 
views  of  the  Chinese  about  spirits  and  demons. 

Calling  back  the  Soul — Often  the  weird  sound  is 
heard  during  the  silent  watches  of  the  night  of  a  man 
calling  back  the  soul  of  a  sick  child.  The  lost  soul  !  how 
fearful  are  the  words  to  us  !  With  the  Chinese  the  sick 
frequently  lose  their  souls.  Passing  along  the  street  a 
foreigner  sometimes  sees  a  cloth  spread  on  the  ground  and 
some  beans  thrown  on  it.  An  old  lady  standing  in  the 
street  calls  the  child  by  name,  "  Ah-do,  come  back," 
— a  voice  upstairs  responds,  "  Ah."  Again,  a  son  is 
sick.  The  aged  mother  goes  in  front  with  a  lighted 
lantern  burning  tinfoil  money  at  every  corner.  The 
father  follows  with  a  basket  of  the  sick  boy's  clothing 
and  his  hat,  and  utters  a  piercing  wail,  "  My  son,  come 
back,  come  back  !  "  At  times  one  is  behind  the  kitchen 
range  and  the  other  is  in  front.  Most  frequently  one  is 
on  the  ladder  to  respond,  as  in  the  picture,  and  the  other 
stands  below  to  call.  An  insect  on  the  roof  is  caught, 
folded  nicely  in  paper,  and  put  beside  the  sick  pillow,  and 


444         ^/^^  Dragon^  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  lost  soul  is  now  found  !     Sickness  came  from  losing 
it,  and  recovery  follows  its  return  home. 

Accompanying  the  Guest. — Another  device  in  case 
of  sickness,  instead  of  sending  for  the  doctor,  is  to  sup- 
pose that  there  is  an  evil  spirit,  who  as  a  guest  is 
stopping  within  the  sick  man  as  at  an  inn,  or,  as  it  is 
said,  "  The  devil-guest  is  making  a  squeeze."  To  get  rid 
of  this  troublesome  visitor  a  subtle  expedient  is  resorted 


Calling  back  the  Soul. 

to.  A  savoury  dish  of  rice,  meat,  and  eggs  is  prepared,  a 
lantern  lit,  and  incense  and  "joss  paper"  burnt ;  the  food 
is  taken  on  a  waiter  into  the  sick  room,  which,  when  the 
devil-guest  smells,  it  will  follow  the  old  servant  as  she 
takes  it  to  the  corner  of  another  lane,  and  gives  it  as  a 
feast  to  the  beggars. 

Charms. — TheTaoists  carry  on  a  busy  traffic  in  charms, 
which  are  sheets  of  paper  or  placards  with  a  mysterious 


Deinonolatry. 


445 


black  scratch  on  them  as  if  inscribed  with  a  "  chicken 
foot."  There  are  several  different  kinds  of  these, 
and,  stuck  on  the  beams  of  houses,  they  are  effectual  in 
keeping  out  evil  spirits.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year 
the  Taoists  sell  them  from  house  to  house  ;  the  best  are 
from  the  Dragon-tiger   :Mountain,  with  the   angel-stamp 


Accompanying  the  Guest. 


A  Charm. 


of  Pope  Chang  upon  them,  and  in  this  section  those  from 
Mount  Mao  are  also  famous.  The  charms  are  used  to 
summon  the  gods,  to  expel  the  demons,  to  heal  disease, 
and  to  cleanse  the  house.  Sometimes  there  are  several 
pasted  to  one  beam. 

An  official   stamp  is   considered  as  a  powerful  warder 


44^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

against  evil  influences,  and  if  a  child  is  sick,  one  is  cut 
from  a  proclamation  and  put  in  its  queue  to  frighten 
spirits.  They  sometimes  have  a  scroll  of  four  characters 
with  the  Governor's  seal  upon  it.  An  almanac  hung 
inside  a  boy's  clothing  is  also  a  valuable  remedy.  If 
there  is  a  corpse  lying  in  the  street,  a  broom  is  turned 
upside  down  in  front  of  every  door.     In  times  of  sickness 


Chung  Kw'ei. 


the  evil  spirits  hover  around,  but  when  the  party  dies, 
these  leave  also.  At  the  birth  of  children  attendant 
demons  throng  the  room. 

Chung  Kw'ei. — "An  imaginary  being,  believed  to 
wield  powers  of  exorcism  over  malignant  demons,  and 
frequently  depicted  as  an  aged  man  clad  in  ragged 
apparel,"  and  holding  a  fan  to  his  face  to  conceal  his 
ugliness.     An  ancient  emperor  once  saw  him  going  into 


Demo7tolatry. 


447 


a  house,  and  asked  him,  "What  are  you  going  there  for?" 
He  answered,  ''To  catch  evil  spirits."  During  the  fifth 
moon  his  picture  is  sold  and  hung  as  a  charm. 

Fifth  Moon,  Fifth  Day. — At  this  feast  a  bunch  of 
sweet  flag  leaves,  rushes,  and  garlic  is  hung  in  the  foim 
of  a  sword  in  front  of  every  door  ;  demons  can  stand  a 
good  deal,  but  they  cannot  endure  the  fragrance  of  onions. 


Lake  Lamps. 

The  fifth  moon  is  a  "  poison  month."  and  the  people  all 
the  time  have  to  beware  of  devils. 

Street  Guards. — Little  deities,  guardians  of  the  peace, 
are  at  every  comer  and  in  every  niche.  Especially  where 
a  street  meets  a  blank  wall,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
stone  with  an  inscription  on  it,  an  image,  or  a  tiger's  head, 
inserted  in  the  masonry  to  confront  the  flying  spirit  and 
send  it  howling  down  the  other  way.  If  a  well  is  opposite 
a  house  a  tiger's  head  is  painted  on  the  wall. 

Spirit  of  the  House.— When  Soochowites  move,  they 


44^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

inquire  of  the  landlord  if  the  regular  sacrifice  has  been 
offered  to  the  "  spirit  of  the  residence."  The  feast  is 
offered  on  a  bench  at  the  door,  and  it  guards  the  ancestral 
service  from  intruding  spirits. 

Cleansing  the  house.— If  there  has  been  a  death  in  a 
house,  or  a  suicide,  Taoist  priests  are  called  to  clean  the 
house,  not  from  dirt  and  filth,  but  to  get  rid  of  all  that  is 
unpropitious.  In  the  day  the  priests  chant,  and  at  night 
an  abbot  is  invited,  who  stands  beside  the  altar  to  burn 
the  charms  and  to  summon  the  regents  of  the  skies.  The 
abbot  wrings  off  the  head  of  a  chicken,  pours  the  blood 
into  a  cup,  and  sprinkles  it  in  the  halls  and  courts,  and 
dticks  up  a  charm  in  every  room,  lest  the  family  live  in 
perpetual  dread. 

Floating  Water  Lamps — The  spirits  under  the 
water,  or  that  travel  by  water,  need  light,  so  the  priests  on 
a  boat  put  a  piece  of  lighted  resin  on  a  little  bunch  of 
straw,  and  the  whole  canal  is  beautifully  illuminated 
by  these  floating  lamps ;  it  is  a  charming  night 
scene. 

Paper  Clothing  Store. — This  is  the  most  enterprising 
business  in  Soochow,  and  year  by  year  new  goods  adorn 
the  counters.  The  trunks  with  brass  paper  locks  are 
filled  with  every  kind  of  clothing ;  if  for  a  man,  they  are 
mandarin  robes,  official  hat  and  top  boots,  with  all  kinds 
of  underclothes,  paper  nail  boots  for  the  rain,  etc. ;  if  for 
women,  their  garments  are  painted  as  if  of  the  richest 
embroidery,  and  are  truly  very  beautiful  patterns.  The 
assortment  of  goods  comprises  chairs,  tables,  beds,  mos- 
quito nets,  bed-spreads,  pillows,  sedan-chairs,  horses,  men- 
servants,    maid-servants,    cups,  tea-pots,    basins,    writing 


Denionolatry. 


449 


materials,  tobacco-pipes,  opium-pipes,  fans,  musical  in- 
struments, clocks  and  watches,  these  last  such  perfect 
imitations  that  for  years  I   thought  them  genuine. 

Preparation  for  Heaven — Sometimes  an  aged  couple 
feel  that  it  is  time  for  them  to  prepare  for  the  other 
world.     A  '^  house,"  with  ''  many  mansions  ''  of  reeds  and 


Paper  Clothing  Store. 


paper,  covers  a  plot  of  ground ;  the  kitchen,  the  servants' 
quarters,  the  reception  halls,  and  bedrooms  are  made  com- 
plete with  every  article  of  needful  furniture  ;  trunks  of 
clothing  and  bags  of  money  are  piled  within ;  the  father 
leads  the  daughter  and  the  son  the  mother,  as  they  with 
the  chanting  priests  pass  around,  then  the  fire  is  kindled 

29 


45^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

and  the  paper  is  quickly  consumed,  but  the  reeds  must 
be  beaten  down  with  poles :  the  lurid  flames  scarcely 
remind  one  of  the  city  whose  "Builder  and  Maker  is 
God."  The  priests  furnish  title  deeds  to  this  property, 
which  must  also  be  committed  to  the  flames. 


The  "Lily-boat"  (South  China). 


The  Bank  of  Hades — The  priests  sometimes  give 
notice  by  gongs  and  placards  that  they  will  despatch  a 
treasure-boat  to  Hades;  the  old  women  all  bring  their 
strings  of  silvered  paper  to  the  boat,  which  is  placed  by 
the  canal,  till  it  is  full  of  its  precious  freight,  when,  after 
the  amply-rewarded  priests  march  around  and  chant,  it  is 


452         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

burnt ;  a  cheque  on  the  Bank  of  Hades  being  handed  to 
each  one  who  makes  a  deposit. 

Travelling  in  Hades — From  the  well-watered  region 
surrounding  Soochow  a  man  takes  a  ''  lily-boat  "  to  travel 
on  the  Grrand  Canal  of  Tartarus,  burning  it  as  he  starts 
on  his  journey,  not  like  the  North  American  Indian,  who 
places  his  canoe  on  the  mountain  side. 

But  in  North  China  travelling  is  done  almost  entirely 
by  carts,  whose  axles  turn  under  the  body.  These  carts 
are  without  springs,  so  that  they  go  bump,  bump,  now 
in  a  hole  and  then  against  a  stone,  over  roads  rough 
beyond  description.  The  departed  soul  is  thought  to 
travel  by  the  same  kind  of  conveyance  in  the  spirit  land, 
so  the  mourning  family  always  sends  by  combustion, 
which  is  the  packet-post  between  the  two  worlds,  a  full- 
sized  paper  cart,  with  paper  horses,  and  from  twenty  to 
fifty  outriders  and  gangs  of  servants,  so  that  the  man 
can  make  a  princely  entrance  into  the  hill  country  of 
Hades. 

Headless  Ghosts. — The  views  of  the  Chinese  as  seen 
above  are  materialistic  in  the  extreme.  Decapitation 
makes  a  headless  soul  in  Hades.  During  the  T'aiping 
troubles  as  much  as  ;S666  was  paid  for  a  head  to  be  buried 
with  a  body,  so  as  to  make  a  respectable  appearance  in 
the  other  world.  "  The  practice  of  suspending  in  pul:)lic 
places  the  heads  of  decapitated  men  is  as  much  designed 
to  inspire  fear  of  severe  punishment  in  the  other  world  as 
of  the  executioner's  knife  in  this." 

Cannot  die  in  the  Inn — The  fear  of  a  Chinese  to 
have  any  one  die  in  his  house  is  so  great  that  a  sick 
stranger  will  be  taken   from   the  hotel   and  put  on  the 


Demonolatry. 


453 


bridge  to  breathe  his  last.  The  busy  throng,  as  it  passes 
carelessly  by,  casts  but  a  listless  glance  at  the  dying  form 
of  a  fellow-creature.  There  is  not  one  pitying  heart  in 
all  the  crowd  to  exclaim  indignantly,  Who  did  this  act  of 
cruelty  ?  Not  one  who  has  enough  love  toward  humanity 
to  pick  the  sufferer  up  and  let  him  die  comfortably  in  his 
home ;  not  one  Good  Samaritan, — 
they  all  "  pass  by  on  the  other  side." 
Suicides — Perhaps  there  is  no 
other  country  where  this  terrible  crime 
is  so  alarmingly  prevalent.  The  appeals 
for  help  to  foreigners  in  an  interior 
city,  from  the  friends  of  the  dying, 
are  frequent.  It  is  often  attempted 
in  a  fit  of  passion.  Eevenge  is  the 
object  sought,  and  when  "a  man  is 
dead  he  is  in  the  position  to  avenge 
himself  of  all  the  injuries  he  may 
have  thought  himself  the  subject." 
"  So  prevalent  is  the  opinion  that  the 
dead  have  power  over  the  living, 
that  it  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon 
tragedy  for  a  person  having  an  irre- 
concilable difficulty  with  another,  to  take  his  life  in  order 
to  place  himself  in  a  position  to  be  avenged."  Many  a 
young  woman,  after  a  severe  beating  by  her  husband  or 
mother-in-law,  with  a  dose  of  opium  goes  into  the  other 
world  that  she  may  return  and  take  revenge  on  her 
oppressors.  In  the  examination  hall  the  essay  of  a 
literary  man  may  be  spoiled  by  the  returning  spirit  of 
a  woman   whose  virtue  he  robbed,   and  who,  on  taking 


A  Pillar  to  Tranquillize 
Drowned  Spirits, 


454         ^^^^  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

the  fatal  dose,  expressed  the  wish  that  she  might  not  be 
transmigrated  but  remain  a  suicidal  ghost  to  haunt  her 
deceiver. 

Drowned  Spirits — The  souls  of  the  drowned  are  sup- 
posed to  remain  under  the  water  for  three  years,  when 
they  seize  some  other  man,  pull  him  into  the  water,  and 
escape.  Boatmen  are  in  continual  dread  of  these  drowned 
demons,  and  men  sometimes  at  dusk  suppose  they  see 
them  squatting  beside  the  waters  edge.  Stone  pillars 
are  erected  on  the  unfortunate  spots  in  order  to  control 
the  souls  of  the  drowned. 

Lunacy. — Chinese  physicians  say  that  lunacy  comes 
from  the  phlegm  which  seals  up  the  orifices  of  the  heart. 
The  Taoists  ascribe  it  to  demons,  and  they  are  called  in ; 
they  require  the  lunatic  to  drink  water  with  the  ashes  of 
a  charm  in  it,  and  the  gods  are  requested  to  come  and 
drive  away  the  demon.  "  The  Chinese  consider  that  all 
mad  persons  are  possessed  with  a  devil,  and  that  the  only 
cure  is  to  make  the  sufferer  prostrate  himself  before  the 
god  called  "  The  Eastern  Peak."  In  Hangchow  these 
unfortunates  are  locked  up  at  night  in  a  room  filled  with 
hideous  figures,  representing  the  punishments  of  hell. 
In  the  midst  of  yells  to  frighten  away  the  devil  within 
the  lunatic's  body,  and  the  flames  of  an  immense  pile  of 
paper  money  lighting  up  the  whole  court  as  if  it  were 
noon-day,  a  poor  wretch  is  hurried  into  the  idol's  presence 
and  made  to  prostrate  himself.  He  is  pronounced  guilty, 
and  a  number  of  blows  are  ordered  ;  these  are  bestowed 
upon  a  straw  figure  which  is  his  representative. 

Demoniacal    Possession. — On    this    topic    what    is 
written  is  merely  tentative.     In  speaking  with  a  friend 


Demonolatry.  455 


on  the  subject,  lie  asked  me,  "  Will  you  not  obtain  some 
well-authenticated  cases  ?  "  I  assured  him  that  "  wdl- 
aidhenticated  cases  on  any  question  did  not  exist  in 
Claina."  There  are,  however,  some  suggestive  thoughts 
on  the  topic. 

1.  P'irst,  there  is  a  universal  belief  in  this  section 
of  the  country  as  to  demoniacal  possession.  This  does 
not  prove  anything,  but  as  most  of  their  religious  errors 
have  a  slight  basis  of  truth,  it  is  not  impossible  that  so 
general  an  impression  might  be  in  a  small  degree  based 
on  facts. 

2.  Soochow  is  a  witch-ridden  city.  To  the  south-east 
near  the  hills  their  number  is  legion,  and  outside  the 
north-east  gate  some  years  ago  the  mandarins  had  to  issue 
proclamations  against  them,  so  thoroughly  demoralizing 
was  the  effect  upon  the  people.  They  are  to  be  seen 
calling  up  spirits  from  Hades,  which  descend  on  the 
smoke  of  an  incense  stick  and  take  possession  of  the 
witch's  body,  so  that  her  words  are  the  words  of  the 
departed,  and  there  she  sits  tossing  her  head  backwards, 
from  side  to  side,  and  rolling  her  eyes  wildly  as  she  rants 
a  jargon,  partly  inarticulate. 

'■  Many  women  in  China  at  times  fall  into  a  trance 
followed  by  frenzy,  and  are  consulted  as  spirit  mediums 
or  interpreters  of  the  gods,  whose  mouthpiece  they  are 
supposed  to  become."  "  The  familiar  spirit  takies  posses- 
sion of  the  medium  at  any  moment  and  without  invita- 
tion." •'  Almost  every  village  has  one  or  more  spirit 
mediums,  each  having  his  or  her  familiar  spirit.  If 
spiritualism  is  good,  China  ought  to  be  one  of  the  most 
enlightened  and  holy  of  countries.     But    though   spirit 


45^         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon 

mediums  are  so  numerous,  no  practical  wisdom  has  come 
from  the  other  world  through  them.  While  they  swarm 
in  China,  they  fail,  as  in  England  and  America,  to 
convey  any  useful  knowledge  to  mankind." 

3.  There  are,  outside  the  city,  bad  gods  who  deal  with 
those  possessed  with  devils.  One  of  the  most  noted 
temples  has  twice  within  a  century  been  demolished  by 


Exorcising  the  Demon  Fox. 


the   officials.      The   forms  that   demonolatry  assume  are 
manifold. 

Catching  Demons. — In  the  historical  books  there  are 
accounts  "of  hogs  crying,  dragons  fighting,  stones  talking, 
and  of  voices  in  the  temples.  At  the  sound  of  the  wind, 
the  rustling  of  the  leaves,  or  the  voice  of  the  birds,  the 
people  think  there  are  demons.  They  call  the  Taoists 
to  burn  the  charms,  brandish  the  swords,  and  call  the 
gods  to  arrest  the  evil  spirits,  and  sometimes  the  affluent 


Demonolatry.  457 


ask  Pope  Chang  to  despatch  a  messenger  to  exorcise  the 
demons. 

China  the  Land  of  Demons. — The   people   beheve 
that  evil  spirits  flit  hither  and  thither,  so  in  front  of  the 
door  there  are  protection  walls  to  shield  the  living  from 
the  intrusion   of  the  dead.     The  house  walls  are  built 
high  and  the  windows  open  in  the  courts  only,  so  as  to 
prevent   the   ingress  of   spirits ;    there   are   no    straight 
passages,  for   as  spirits  travel   in  bee-lines,  in  order  to 
intercept  their   progress   the   passages  are  zigzag ;    and 
there  is  a  succession  of  screen-doors  which  meet  you  at 
every  turn  ;  the  object-  is  to  build  the  residence  demon- 
proof.     In   front  of  the  door  lime  is  often  sprinkled  in 
the  shape  of  spears  and  swords  to  frighten  the  invisible 
intruders.       "  Thus   the    Chinese   have    been   taught   to 
consider  themselves  as  constantly  surrounded  by  a  spirit 
world,  invisible  indeed  and  inaccessible  to  touch  or  hand- 
ling, but  none  the  less  real,  none  the  less  influential." 
They  do  not  consider  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  world 
as  a  separate  class  of  beings,  but  look  upon  all  spirits, 
demons,  and  devils,  as  the  souls  of  dead  men  ;  and  when 
they  view  the  dense  population  of  these  vast  plains,  and 
consider   that  each    Chinaman  has  three   souls,  it  is  no 
wonder  they  think,  ^'  Seeing  we  are  compassed  about  with 
so  great  a  cloud"   of  demons.      Such   is  the  version  of 
Taoism.     "  The  system  seems  to  dog  their  steps,  and  let 
loose  billions  of  malevolent,  malignant,  and  ruthless  spirits 
to  trouble   them.     Though  they  see  them  not,  hosts  of 
them  may  be  all  about  them  seeking  opportunity  to  inflict 
some  injury,  so  that  to  the  fanciful  mind  of  a  Chinese, 
a  numberless   host  of  invisible    beings   are   about    him, 


45 8         The  Dj^agon,  Image,  and  Demon. 

concealed  at  every  corner,  wandering  through  the  air, 
and  their  sounds,  weird  and  eerie,  are  heard  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night  as  the  wind  howls  about  the  roof. 
The  dread  of  spirits  is  the  nightmare  of  the  Chinaman's 
life."  Here  it  is  a  ministration  of  demons,  not  of  angels. 
He  has,  not  his  guardian  angel,  but  his  host  of  invading 
demons.  In  times  of  excitement,  when  wild  alarms 
disturb  the  public  tranquillity,  it  is  almost  equal  to  that 


Breath  of  Death. 

phase  of  delirium  tremens  when  little  demons  are  seen 
upon  the  wall  and  upon  the  bed,  nodding,  beckoning, 
jeering,  threatening. 

The  Breath  of  Death. — This  is  the  deity  they  worship 
as  the  "noxious  god"  during  the  masses  for  the  dead.. 
He  comes  as  the  harbinger  of  evil,  and  brings  swift 
destruction  on  his  wings. 

The  Great  Feast  to  Spirits.— The  first  of  the  Ming 


Demonolatry 


459 


emperors,  who  feared,  from  the  numbers  of  soldiers  that 
were  slain  in  battle,  that  there  might  be  a  hungry  horde 
despatched  from  Hades  to  hover  as  a  war  cloud  over  his 
newly-attained  empire,  ordered  three  feasts  a  year  during 
April,   August,    and   November    to    be    offered   by   the 


Feasting  the  Spirits. 


mandarins  to  these  deceased  warriors,  and  now  it  includes 
all  penniless,  orphan  spirits.  Sometimes  the  priests  take 
a  bowl  of  rice  and  throw  it  out  grain  by  grain,  and  this 
as  food  for  the  dwellers  in  Tartarus  may  be  turned  into 
as  much  as  the  sands  of  the  Ganges.  The  throats  of  the 
spirits  are  small  like  a  hair,  but  by  chanting  Buddhist 


46o         The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon, 


prayers  they  will  be  expanded.     The  picture  represents 
a   musical    entertainment    called  fang   yen    k'eu,  given 
to    spirits,    when    the    priests    blow   rice   out    of    their 
mouths. 
On  the  thirtieth  of  the  seventh  moon,  it  is  supposed 


Mara. 


that  all  the  spirits  in  prison,  all  the  devils  in  hell,  are 
turned  loose ;  countless  myriads  coming  as  swarms  of 
locusts  from  the  unseen  abyss,  black,  hungry,  and 
naked,  whose  motto  is  "  Your  money  or  your  life."  In 
front  of  every  door  piles  of  paper-tinsel  are  burned, 
and  it  is    estimated    that    at  one    temple    at   Hangchow 


Demonolatry.  46 1 

during  two  weeks   fifteen   hundred   dollars  daily  are  ex- 
pended  in   paper  sycee.      On  this  dread  night  there  is 
The  Devils'  Procession. — Mara,  the  god  of  lust,  sin, 
and  death,  comes  in  two  ways, — to  frighten  and  to  deceive. 
The   goddess   of    mercy,  pitying    the    devils    in    Hades, 
wished  to  visit  them  and  bestow  her  gracious  favours  upon 
them,  but  fearing  lest  these,  so  long  accustomed  to  sin, 
might  on  seeing  her  beautiful  face  have  depraved  inclina- 
tions, and  so  increase  their  guilt,  she  was  metamorphosed 
into  the  devil  king, — also  called  "  the  burnt-faced  devil 
king," —  so  that  none  would  love,  but  all  would  fear.     ]\Iara 
has  a  green  complexion,  long  tusks,  and  a  frightful  face  ; 
his  paper   image  is  twelve  feet  high ;  with  two  smaller 
devils,  one  white  and  the  other  black,  who  as  the  Yamen 
runners  of  Hades  receive  the  souls  of  the  dying,  he  leads 
the  procession  with  lanterns  and  gongs.     He  comes  not 
now  as  the  "  prince  of  this  world,"  or  as  "  an  angel  of 
light,"  but  clad  in  the  habiliments  of  the  prison  of  the 
lost.     He  is  worshipped  and  honoured  by  a  great  people, 
and   as  he  triumphantly  enters  every  city,  the  rejoicing 
multitudes   that   go   before   and   that   follow  after,    cry, 
Hosanna  to  the  son  of  darkness  ;  Hosanna  in  the  lowest ! 
and  then,  in  this  climax  of  devil-worship,  when  ^lara  is 
assigned  the  highest  place  in  the  pantheon,  an  adoring 
nation  bows  to  him  as  their  high  ruler,   their  accursed 
guardian,  their  faithless  guide,  and  their  chief  divinity. 
Conclusion — Let  us  follow  Him  who  came  to  "  destroy 
the  works   of  the  devil "  in    His   triumphal  entry    into 
Jerusalem,  as  he  paused  on  Olivet's  brow,  and  as  ''  when 
He  beheld  the  city.  He  wept  over  it."     If  when  He  saw 
the  3,000,000  of  Judea,  "  He  was  moved  with  compassion 


462         The  Di^agon,  Lnage,  and  Dejnon. 

on  them,  because  they  fainted,  and  were  scattered  abroad, 
as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,"  should  not  our  pity  for  this 
countless  people  be  a  hundredfold  ?  As  we  witness  the 
downward  progress  of  their  systems  from  the  school  to  the 
temple,  from  philosophy  to  demonolatry,  and  from  asceti- 
cism to  devil-worship,  we  instinctively  cry,  "  The  night  is 
far  spent ! "  the  night  of  superstition  and  idolatry,  and 
call  to  the  heralds  on  Zion's  towers,  "  Watchman,  what  of 
the  night  ?  The  watchman  saith.  The  morning  cometh  ! " 
"  The  Sun  of  Kighteousness  arises." 

As  a  minister  was  speaking  of  the  "  folly  of  idolatry, 
and  telling  the  story  of  God's  love,"  "  a  white-haired 
village  patriarch  "  said,  "  We  did  not  know  that  this  was 
wrong.  Our  fathers  worshipped  thus.  We  cannot  find 
the  door  J'  The  Good  Shepherd  says,  "  I  am  the  door." 
The  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel  sung,  "  Their  sorrows  shall 
be  multiplied  that  hasten  after  another  god."  One  day, 
a  year  after  we  came  to  Soochow,  an  old  lady  walked 
to  the  chapel  leaning  upon  her  staff.  She  was  invited 
in,  and  was  asked  by  the  missionary's  wife,  "  Who  did 
you  come  here  to  see  ?  "  She  told  her  story  :  "  I  went 
outside  the  West  Gate  to  make  some  purchases,  and 
the  shop-keeper's  wife,  seeing  I  had  such  a  sad  face,  asked 
me  what  was  the  matter.  I  told  her  that  my  husband's 
two  sons  died  during  the  T'aiping  rebellion,  and  there 
was  left  only  my  youngest  boy,  who  was  clerk  to  a  pawn- 
broker ;  he  was  taken  sick  and  died  the  day  after  they 
brought  him  home,  and  now  in  my  old  age  I  am  all  alone ; 
then  she  said  to  me,  '  If  you  want  comfort,  go  to  the 
Yang  Yoh  Hong,  they  have  a  doctrine  that  comforts 
people.' "     We  have   had  many  good   things   and  many 


Demonolatry,  463 


bad  things  said  about  us,  but  never  a  better  than  this, 
that  "  we  have  a  doctrine  that  comforts  people."  One 
morning,  going  to  my  chapel,  I  saw  laid  out  in  the  front 
room  of  a  house  the  icy  form  of  a  young  maiden  of 
seventeen  years,  and  beside  her  a  little  girl  weeping 
and  saying,  "  My  golden  sister,  my  golden  sister,  I  do 
not  know  where  you  have  gone  to ! "  And  many  a 
time  has  this  bitter  wail  pierced  my  heart,  "  My  golden 
sister,  my  golden  sister,  I  do  not  know  where  you  have 
gone  to  ! " 


THE  END. 


INDEX. 

Page 

Page 

Abacus 

.    570 

Cremation  . 

.  187 

Abbot . 

.  376 

Criminal 

.  408 

Alchemy      . 

.  355 

Chung  Kw'ei 

.  446 

Altar  . 

.     59 

Death          .         .11,- 

5,  185,  289 

Amita . 

.  298 

Dedication  . 

.  260 

Ananda 

.    185,  199 

Demons 

443 

Ancestors    . 

.     77,  286 

Demoniacal  Possessior 

I        .  454 

Ancestral  Hall 

.     81 

Devil 

461 

Antiquity    . 

27,  65,  77 

Doctor  Fox 

*.  400 

Asia     . 
Atheism 
^sculapius . 

.  191 
.  207 
.  398 

Hwat'u 

Dragon     133,  134,  172 
Dreams 

.  401 

,  315,  330 

.  369 

Baby  Devil 

.  179 

Drowned     . 

.  454 

Bank  of  Hades 

.  451 

Elephants    . 

173,  178 

Bodhidharma 

.  199 

Emperor  Show    . 

.  342 

Borrowing  Year: 

.  408 

Emperors    . 

.  192 

Brahma 

.   161,  207 

Emptiness    . 

168,  215 

Brahmans    . 

.  160 

Breath  of  Death 

.  458 

Family  Worship 

.     56 

Bribery 
Buddha 

.  368 
.  145 

Fairy  Crane 

Faith  .         .         .         . 

.  366 

.  183 

Fascinating 

281,283 

Calendar      . 

.  252 

Fear   .         .         .         . 

.     80 

Chang,       The 

Heavenly 

Fetish 

.  203 

Teacher 

.   362,  373 

Fihal  Piety 

.     77 

Charms 

.    407,444 

Five    .         .     130,329 

,  393,  421 

Chiliocosm  . 

.  210 

Fix-Light  Buddha 

.  318 

China  . 

.  191 

Forgiveness 

214,  368 

Citadel        . 

.     48 

Funeral 

.  442 

Confacianist 

.     46 

Fungshuy    . 

.  431 

Confucius    . 

.       78, 89 

Fungtu 

.  306 

Disciples  of 

.  138   1 

Genealogical  Tables    , 

.     82 

Conscience  . 

.        .     46 

Gods  Appointed 

.  362 

Constellations 

.  414   1 

Gods'  Audience  . 

.  375 

Corpse 

.  430 

Bad     . 

.  341 

Creator       38,  IG 

I,  207,  211,  364 

Compendium  of  . 

.  2(;7 

Credentials . 

.  440 

Dei  Majores 

.  270 

A 

466 


Index, 


Page 

Page 

Gods  differ  in  Rank    . 

358 

Gods  of  - 

have  Sin 

361 

Compass  . 

.  327 

kidnapping  Pretty  Wo- 

Constables 

.  140 

men  .... 

409 

Corpse-gods      . 

.  395 

may  be  Bambooed 

140 

Cruelty    . 

.  339 

Marry          .         .  285 

361 

Cycle 

.  414 

go  to  the  Theatre 

282 

Day  and  Night  Recorders  396 

be  sent  to  the  "Earth 

Divine  Husbandman        .  139 

Prison"  . 

313 

Door 

131,  331 

jass  out  of  Date 

362 

Earth 

.     68 

36  promoted 

361 

Eastern  Peak  . 

.  387 

•  rotate, 

360 

Eight 

.  139 

be  transmigrated 

227 

Eighth     . 

.  142 

Goddesses    .... 

285 

Eye. 

.  402 

Goddess,  Corner 

340 

Favouring  Wind 

.  328 

Embroidery 

335 

Field  Ancestor 

.  328 

•  Flowers 

76 

Fire. 

.  389 

Fornication 

340 

Fire- crackers    . 

.  339 

■  Frost  .... 

75 

Fishermen 

.  334 

Kwanyin     . 

292 

Five  Elements 

.     72 

Locust 

326 

Forty  Masters . 

.  329 

Male  Principle  of  Na- 

Gamblers 

.  340 

ture 

330 

Gold 

.  327 

Manure 

340 

Granary  . 

.  141 

■  Midwives    . 

403 

Happiness 

.  327 

Miss  Mang 

314 

Heavenly  Mandarir 

1        .  322 

Mother  of  Buddha 

318 

Holding- Snakes 

.  325 

North  Star 

410 

Horses  and  Cows 

.  324 

Sea      . 

388 

Household 

.  130 

Sombre  Maiden  . 

319 

Jade 

.  335 

Travel 

.  328 

Jugglers  . 

.  336 

Western  Royal  Mother  394 

King  Lee 

.  318 

Wheat 

.     76 

Kitchen   . 

.  323 

Womb 

.  403 

Lamp 

.  328 

Gods  of 

Land  and  Grain 

.  139 

Agriculture      . 

.  131 

Lice 

.  338 

Archery  . 

.  328 

Lightning 

.       72,  73 

Architecture    . 

.  336 

Literature 

.  126 

Bacchus  . 

.  334 

Luck 

.  403 

Barbers    . 

.  335 

Marriage . 

.  426 

Bean-Curd 

.  335 

Masons     . 

.  334 

Bed          ... 

.  326 

Master  of  Lily  Lak 

e        .  318 

Body        . 

.  404 

Measles    . 

.  403 

Bridge 

.  328 

Medicine . 

.  399 

Carpenters 

.  333 

Monkey  . 

.  337 

Caverns    . 

.     75 

Moon 

.     68 

City 

.  385 

Mountains 

.     72 

City  Wall 

.  141 

Musical  Instrument 

Ls        .  336 

Classics    . 

.  135 

1       Net. 

.  334 

Index. 


Page 

Gods  of — 

North  Place  .  .  .  327 
Noxious  ....  438 
Office  .  .  .  .120 
Paper  Clothing  .  .  336 
Pestilence  .  .  .  390 
Precincts  .         .         .139 

Prison  .  .  .  .140 
Punch  and  Judy  .  .  338 
Rain  ...  72,  73 
Rain  Clothes  .  .  .  337 
Revenge  ....  339 
Riches  .  .  .  .321 
River  .  .  .  .72 
Road  ....  396 
Rough  Gem     .         .         .  329 

Salt 327 

Scorpions  .         .         .326 

Sea 71 

Seasons  .  .  .  .72 
Shadows  ....  340 
Sheep  ....  324 
Silk.  .  .  .  .335 
Silk-worm  .  .  .  330 
Small- pox  .  .  .402 
Snakes  ....  325 
Snow  .  .  .  .75 
Soul  .  .  .  .327 
Stone  Lion  .  .  .  344 
Strength  ....  327 

Sun 68 

Tailors  .  .  .  .335 
Tea.  .  .  .  .  327 
Theatres.  .  .  .324 
Thunder  .  .  .72,  73 
Tides  ....  132 
Time  .  .  .  .72 
Ting  ....  331 
Tree  .  .  .  .75 
Wang  Papa  .  .  .327 
War  .         .         .         .128 

Water  .  .  .  .71 
Wave  ....  328 
Wealth  ....  320 
Well  ....  332 
White  Tiger  .  .  .  396 
Willow    .         .  .75 

Wind        .         .  .72 

Witches  .        .        .         .  394   I 


467 


Page 


Gods  of— 

•^"6" 

Writing  . 

.  1.35 

Year  .      . 

.  330 

Grave 

.     82 

Great  Extreme    . 

356 

Goose  . 

.  179 

Guest  . 

.  444 

Han  Wenkung    . 

.  197 

Heart 

.      44,211 

Heaven        .         .      5 

0,  183,  368 

Son  of 

.     51 

and  Earth   . 

.     67 

Heavenly  Dog     . 

.  411 

Hell     . 

.   305,  311 

Hermit 

.  152 

Hien  Yuen 

.  399 

Historian     . 

.  110 

Home 

.     84 

Huai  Xant  ze 

.  350 

Humility     . 

.  104 

Iconoclasts  . 

.  206 

Immortals  . 

.  356,  420 

India   . 

.  190 

Indulgences 

.  368 

Industry 

.  261 

Itinerant     . 

.  161 

Janteng 

.  315 

K'anghe 

.     31 

Kashiapa     . 

175,  199 

Kiang  T'aikung  .    33-1 

\,  343,  363 

Laotsze 

.  .345 

Law     .         .         .         . 

.  164 

Lies     .         ,         .         . 

110,  201 

Lih  Ling 

.  396 

Lily     . 

294,  303 

Lohans 

.  240 

Love   .         .         .         . 

.  215 

Lunacy 

.  454 

Magician 

.  176 

Mandarins  . 

.     54 

Manhood     . 

119,  137 

Manichseans 

.  359 

Mara    .         .         .         . 

153,  461 

Masses  for  the  Dead    . 

.  437 

Mediator 

323,  386 

Mencius 

44,  135 

468 


Index. 


Merit  . 

Military  official 

Ming  Dynasty 

Miracles 

Mirror 

Missionary  . 

Monasticism 

Morality 

Mother  (Heathen) 

Mount  T"'ai 

Musician 

"Nail  Cage    . 
Nanda 
Nihilism 
Nirvana 
Nuns    . 

Pagodas 

Pantheism  . 

Paper  Clothing 

Parables 

Paradise 

Park    . 

Parrot 

Patience 

Patriarchs   . 

Pearly  Emperor 

P'eng  Lai  Islands 

Persecutions 

Pilgrims 

Pity     . 

Plagiarism 

Pope    . 

Pootoo 

Pouhien 

Prayer  69,  71,  85,  119 

Prescriptions 
Previous  Existence 
Priests 
Procession 
Prohibitions 
Pure  Land 


Rain    . 

Redemption 

Relic;^ . 

Revival 

Roman  Catholics 


185 


Page 

.  221 
.  397 
.  65 
.  173 
.  309 
.  190 
163,  214 
41,  212 
.  288 
.  273 
.  104 

.  265 

.  179 

.  216 

.  227 

.  84 

196,  376 

66,211 

.  448 

.  170 

148,  294 
57,  165 
.  182 
.  192 
.  199 
.  382 
.  421 
.  195 
.  278 
.  155 
.  354 
.  372 
.  274 

238,  319 

123,  231, 

248 

.  406 

.  169 

229,  375 
.  60 
.  165 
.  302 

73,  250 
.  220 

196,  291 
.  205 
.  290 


Sabbath 

Sacrifice      .         .      61, 

Sanscrit 

School 

Schools  of  Buddhism  . 

Science 

Services  for  the  Living 

Sign    .... 

Sin      . 

Slavery. 

Son      ...         . 

Soul     .         .         .   435, 

Stability 

Star     .         .         . 

Stealing 

Street  Guards 

Suicide 

Superstitions 


Page 

.  41 

121,  159 

231,  249 

124 

200 

209 

366 

256 

219 

87 

79 

439,  443 

55,  106 

127,  417 

.  266 

.  447 

.  453 

.  109 


Tail  Cutting        .         .         .370 

Tao 349 

Tao  Teh  King    .         .         .348 

Temple      57,  115,  121,  134,  141, 

234,  261,  368,  376 


Theatricals  . 

278 

Thirteen  Boards 

363 

Thirty  Teachers  . 

404 

Tola    . 

156 

Tolerance    . 

204 

Tortures 

265 

Tsusze  Pusa 

384 

Transmigration    .  224 

,  360,' 

366, 

369 

,  439 

Travellers    . 

195 

TraveUing  in  Hades 

452 

Triads       130,  237,  37^ 

),  391 

,392 

Vegetarians 

218 

Vice     . 

43 

Vision  of  Hell     . 

308 

Votive  Tablets    . 

401 

Vows  . 

248 

Wang  Ling  Kwan 

396 

Want  of  Rehgion 

47 

244 

Water  Lamps 

448 

Wenshu 

238 

Women 

286 

Worship 

240 

Yin  and  Yang     . 

357 

1 
Date  Due 

'n7 

r^  C  ;.:._- 

0^^' 

f) 

PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

